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READ THE SOL TIMES ONLINE @ WWW.SOLTIMES.COM

2

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SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

Spanish air controllers
sued for 50 million euros
Passengers hit by a 24-hour wildcat strike by Spanish air traffic controllers
announced this week they had sued for 50 million euros in damages

An association of 5,000
passengers said it had filed
suit in a Madrid court against
controllers who called in sick en
masse December 3, disrupting
travel for more than 200,000
people on a holiday weekend.
Spain’s government forced
the controllers to return to work
the following day by declaring a
state of alert, putting the military
in command and threatening
jail for those who refused.
It was the first state of alert
in Spain since the 1975 death
of dictator General Francisco

Sport

Franco.
“In the civil action, we are
requesting the opening of a
civil suit to claim 10,000 euros
in moral damages and financial
losses for each person,” the
association said in a statement.
“The closure of airspace
affected thousands of people
who were hostage to the
situation in national and
international
planes
and
airports, causing major losses
to the tourism sector and
damaging the image of Spain,”
it said.
According to the association’s

legal counsel, Cremades &
Calvo-Sotelo, thousands more
people were expected to join
the action.
Spanish prosecutors are
already investigating air traffic
controllers for possible sedition
charges for abandoning their
posts.
If the controllers were found
guilty and unable to pay the
claimed damages, the claimants
‘ association said Spain’s airport
authority AENA should be held
accountable.

Spain asks court to ban
new Basque party

Spain’s government has asked the Supreme Court
to outlaw a new Basque pro-independence party
called Sortu, arguing it is an extension of the banned
political wing of the armed separatist group ETA.
Sortu was launched by people close to Batasuna,
ETA’s outlawed political wing, on February 7 as a
new party that rejects violence and is committed to
fighting for independence through purely political
means. It wants to take part in municipal elections
in the Basque region in May.
Batasuna has been ruled illegal since 2003
because of its links to ETA, whose bloody campaign
of bombings and shootings for a Basque homeland
independent of Spain has been blamed for 829
deaths in more than four decades.
Spain’s central government has voiced doubts
over the legality of Sortu, and said it would be up
to the courts to make a decision. The government
believes Sortu is “an extension of Batasuna”,
Joaquin de Fuentes Bardaji, a senior justice

department lawyer, told reporters after filing the
request with the Supreme Court asking that the
party be banned. In the request to have Sortu
banned, government lawyers argue based on
police reports that the party’s rejection of violence
“is cosmetic, rhetorical, not real.”
The Supreme Court now has 20 days to decide if
Sortu is legal or not. ETA on January 10 declared a
“permanent and general ceasefire” to be verified
by the international community. But Spain’s Prime
Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero rejected the
declaration, saying he wanted nothing less than
ETA’s dissolution, and the authorities have vowed
to hunt down ETA members.
Spanish police arrested four suspected ETA
bombers on Tuesday and seized about 200
kilogrammes (396 pounds) of explosives as part
of the operation in the harshest blow against the
group since it declared its latest ceasefire.

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Paramount Theme
Park BEginS to
take shape
A team of technicians from the Hollywood company arrived last week bringing
with them the first drafts for the new theme park. Report by Biggy Marshall

It is going to be grand, bigger than Terra Mítica
near Benidorm and similar to Disney Paris. And
that is exactly the intentions of the developer,
Proyectos Emblemáticos. Their ambition is to
outdo any competition, nationals as well as
internationals, and to start construction, or at
least lay the first stone, at the end of the year.
They have chosen a spacious spot in the
Alhama de Murcia municipality, with plenty of
possibilities for extensions. The complex will
cover 207 acres or 109 hectares, equivalent
to 109 football pitches, in total, sectioned off
in 36.5 ha for the actual theme park, 8.8 ha
destined for an aqua park, four plots of between
4.8 and 8.8 ha for hotels, and two plots of more
than 45 ha for parking.
The principal attractions will be in the centre
of the complex. According to sources quoted
in La Verdad: ‘There will be nothing like it neither
in Europe nor in the World. We are talking a new

generation of parks and its success will spread
as it will be offering thing that others do not
have. It will be a very different park. A unique
attraction!’
Four hotels will surround the theme park with
a capacity between them of nearly two million
guests per year. Considering the high summer
temperatures in the region, the developer finds
that an aqua park is essential and will present an
important commercial potential.
In the outer periphery there will be plenty of
parking with two big parking lots, to the North
8.0 ha while the Southern one will cover 38.4
ha, with a daily capacity of 6,000 cars.
These are the first details that have reached
the public about the new theme park, though
they are not definitive. The final master plan
is expected to be presented 25th of March,
coinciding with a visit to the region by Michael
Bartok, Executive Vice President of Paramount.

combined effect from
Paramount/Corvera
International Airport

The Tourist Board is emphasizing the importance of the development of Paramount Theme
Park and the expectations of the number of visitors - report by biggy marshall.
Jesús Pacheco, President of the Tourist Board,
relayed last week to the President of The
Autonomous Murcia Region the satisfaction of
the regional business world of the progress of the
Paramount project as well as the construction
of the new international airport. Ramón Luis
Valcárcel received the members of the board
to discuss the situation of the tourist sector
and invited the board members to accompany
him on his next visit to the airport to see the
progress themselves.
The restaurateurs took the opportunity to vent
their preoccupation over the effects that the
new anti-tobacco law has had on the restaurant
business. They told Valcárcel that next month
they will present a survey of the losses they have
suffered.
The regional Minister for Culture and Tourism,

Pedro Alberto Cruz, indicated that the tourism
sector on the other hand is the sector that has
contributed most to the improvement during
the crisis. Due to Cruz the registered number
of tourists visiting the region in January rose by
6.34%, compared to the same month last year.
The total increase for the same period in the
whole of Spain was 3.67%.
Pedro Alberto Cruz further said that the figures,
which tourist activity in The Murcia Region has
been producing, has confirmed the expectation
and are encouraging for the sector. They
emphasize that the tourism industry is adding
considerably to the regional economy and the
efforts to overcome the severe economic crisis
we currently experience.

Puppy murdered at Orihuela’s
new Animal ‘Protection Centre

A DENUNCIA has been made
against the Centre for the
Protection of Animals in
San Bartolomé, Orihuela,
after a puppy was allegedly
murdered by staff.

www.lowcostparking.es

This horrific act took place on
Friday 21st January, witnessed by
a Spanish lady and her husband
who went to enquire about a
dog they found earlier in the
month.
At around 13.00 on 21st
January, they witnessed a woman
in a Seat Ibiza arrive at the centre.
She threw a black and white
puppy out of the car about 100m
from the entrance. The puppy ran
after the car but returned, scared
and shaken. It approached the
car of the Spanish woman and
her husband. They spoke to a
man at the centre who said he
was the cleaner. He was then
instructed by phone not to take
the animal in and to tell the
couple that officials would be
available on Monday. He left the
couple outside but they slipped
the puppy through the gate
before waiting out of sight to be
sure the puppy was safe.
A man came out of the main

building wearing a uniform and
gloves, bent down towards the
animal and walked away again
but without the dog. The couple
moved closer and saw that
the dog was dying in a pool of
blood.
Following this, a woman came
out of the centre and when
asked by the couple what had
happened to the puppy she just
shrugged her shoulders before
picking up the dead puppy up by
the ear and placed it in a plastic
bag.
The centre was built with
1,350,000€ from FEIL, the Local
Investment State Fund, yet has
not been officially inaugurated,
working in a clandestine & risqué
manner, alarmingly understaffed,
without an opening license, and
without minimum sanitation and
hygiene levels.
A full investigation by the
Ayuntamiento
is
currently
underway.

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

Spanish housing ‘amnesty’
given cautious welcome
Thousands of British expatriates whose Spanish holiday homes were declared to
have been illegally built are set to benefit from a new government ‘amnesty’ a
report featured in The Daily Telegraph states.

The homes are among vast numbers of
properties in southern Spain that faced the
prospect of compulsory demolition after
local officials ruled that they had been built
with inadequate planning permission.
In many cases, construction had been
approved by corrupt town hall politicians but
later ruled illegal by regional planning chiefs.
Now, in a major boost for British owners,
many of whom had invested life savings in
the properties, the Andalucian regional
government has declared that more than
11,000 of them in the Axarquia region near
Malaga may be legalised.
“Finally, we think we’re hitting the home
straight,” said Philip Smalley, president of
residents’ group Save Our Homes in Axarquia.
“At the moment it is just words, but our
understanding is that finally the council in
Andalucia will pass an amendment to legalise
these houses. It is absolutely a step in the
right direction.”
Josefina Cruz, the head of the department
for public works and housing in the
Andalusian regional government, met with
mayors from 14 municipalities in the Axarquia
region on Friday to explain the decree, which
will normalise 11,025 houses in their area.
Many British owners claim to have bought
the homes in good faith, only to become
embroiled in lengthy and expensive court
battles and planning rows.
Ms Cruz said the move would permit the
“recognition of the houses”, and would be
enacted within three to six months.
Crucially, the amendment will state that the
properties can have access to infrastructure
and basic services - at present, many illegallybuilt homes have been denied permission to
even connected to mains electricity, water
systems or sanitation facilities. Campaigners
say this is seen as a step
towards fully legalising the
property.
Ms Cruz described the
announcement as a “a
recognition of a reality which
is there, and responding to it,
but with conditions. What we
are doing is recognising the
existence of 11,025 homes
which can start a process of
regularisation.”
The latest announcement
would seem to be another
initiative to restore confidence
in the troubled Spanish
property market, which has
been badly hit by the global

san javier.........

The program of events for the del Día de los
Derechos de la Mujer will be prolonged until
22nd March. The Mayor of San Javier, Pepa
García, Councillor for Equality, María Angeles
Chumillas, President of the Association of Amas
de Casa de San Javier, Francisca La Torre and the
President of the Federation of Housewives of
Murcia, Juana Perez, inaugurated the program
of activities to be held in San Javier until 22
March to mark the Day for Women’s Rights and
World Peace.
Workshops,
conference
presentations,
competitions and tributes to outstanding
women in the municipality are included in the
program, which is organised by the Department
of Equality and the Association of Amas de Casa
de San Javier, in collaboration with other Council
departments such as Parks and Gardens, Social
Services, the April Women’s Association and the
Fundación Secretariado Gitano.
On Thursday 3 March, the Associación de
Amas de Casa, which has been in existence
for 26 years, celebrated the traditional Day of
Coexistence with a lunch in a tent in Almansa Park

economic downturn and the problems in the
Eurozone.
Earlier this month, Beatriz Corredor, the
Spanish secretary of state for housing, told
The Sunday Telegraph that the Spanish
government was keen to woo British buyers
back to the Spanish property market.
She said that new legislation was being put
in place to reassure potential purchasers
their homes were built legally, and prevent a
repeat of the illegal building fiasco which has
blighted much of Spain’s coastal provinces.
According to government figures, 100,000
homes built around the coast during the last
decade face unresolved planning problems,
The amnesty in Axarquia’s will put the vast
majority of the area’s illegally-built homes on
the road to legalisation, although a remaining
859 properties deemed to have been illegally
built on specially-protected land may still be
demolished.
Mrs Cruz said: “We will act forcefully so
that the occurrence of illegally-built houses
in Axarquia is contained, because we have
to protect the countryside and the touristic
value of the region.”
However, some embattled home owners
fear that the new decree does not go far
enough, and remain deeply sceptical about
the initiative.
“We’ve heard all of these promises before,”
said Maura Hillen, president of a resident’s
association in Albox, 130 miles south
of Alicante. She has spent recent years
campaigning for Britons who, like her, have
been given demolition orders.
“The devil really is in the detail, and they
haven’t published any documentation on this
so far. They are very good at making promises,
and very bad at living up to them.”

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followed by a homage to several outstanding
women of the municipality.
Francesca La Torre invited women attending
to participate in the tribute to Irena Sendler,
a Polish nurse who during World War II helped
save over 2,500 Jewish children.
On 8 March, the Council’s Parks and Gardens
Department distributed plants throughout the
municipality and Councilwoman Maria Angeles
Chumillas presented the prizes of the literary
competition, the subject of which was ‘Gender
Violence’, and which was sponsored by the
April Women’s Association.
That night, in the carnival tent Santiago de
la Ribera, the Mayor, Pepa García handed
several awards to outstanding women of the
municipality.
Further activities planned include the Biodanza
workshop, a visit to the premises of Amusal in
Murcia, and a panel discussion on advertising
and sexist language. The program will culminate
in April with a workshop for teenagers about
domestic violence organised by the Department
of Youth, and a social gathering for women from
the city, who will spend a weekend at a resort
in Albacete.

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...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

Barclays to close
100 branches
British bank Barclays will close more than
100 branches and lay off 700 staff in Spain
to cut costs and stem losses, the financial
daily Expansion said Tuesday.
The cuts, amounting to 17 percent of the
staff and almost 20 percent of the branch
network, would be announced this week
as part of a global plan to reduce costs and
open up new markets, it said.
Barclays officials in London and Madrid
declined to comment.
The decision coincided with the arrival
one month ago of a new head of Barclays’
retail banking business in Spain, Jaime

Sport

Echegoyen, who was formerly the chief
executive of Bankinter, it said.
Barclays wanted to re-focus its business
in Spain on medium- and high-earning
customers.
The 2008 collapse of the Spanish property
bubble hit Barclays bank hard, leaving it
exposed to bad loans. It was forced to
make provisions of 900 million pounds
(1.062 billion euros) last year, it said.
Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond
had described the group’s losses in Spain
in 2010 as being unacceptable, the paper
said.

Spain’s deputy PM
hospitalised in intensive care

Spain’s deputy prime minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, is
in intensive care in hospital suffering from a fever caused by
a urinary tract infection, an official said Tuesday.
Rubalcaba, 59, had gone to Madrid’s Gregorio Maranon
hospital Sunday suffering from a high fever, which he believed
was caused by a cold, said a government spokeswoman.
“He was hospitalised due to a persistent fever caused by
a urinary tract infection after a prostate biopsy carried out
several days earlier,” the spokeswoman said.
He was transferred to intensive care on Monday but by
Tuesday, he was “doing better,” she said.
Rubalcaba, who is also the interior minister, is one of the most powerful men in government
and is considered a likely successor to Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The biopsy had ruled out prostate cancer, an interior ministry statement said.

Neater Heater have been selling and
installing quality stylish Norwegian
BEHA heaters to residents of the
Costa Blanca for over 18 months now.
With the prices of gas and
electricity escalating it is
now more important
then ever to shop
around for the
most efficient
option.
“We
think
that´s
us” says Tony.
“Since the day
I
accidentally
discovered
these
at a Norwegian friend´s
house, and Richard and I started
importing and selling them, we have
installed them in the homes of over a
hundred ex-pats, the majority of whom
have recommended them to their
friends and neighbours”.
They´re easy to install, needing only
4 screws and proximity to a socket.

They look stylish, and we have a large
selection of sizes. “The overwhelming
majority we sell are white, but some
sizes come with a black option. My 14
year old son has a black one in
his room. He´s delighted
, his friends think it´s
very cool.”
Richard
and
Tony
have
now set up
a network of
agents selling
Neater Heaters
from as far North
as Denia all the way
down to Mojacar on the
Costa Almeria. Now anyone can
get along to a local outlet and see for
themselves. “This is a great time to
buy Neater Heaters as stocks are now
plentiful. Our one problem is that they
are so popular in Northern Europe that
the factory generally runs out of them
before Christmas each year.”

Where Neater Heaters can be viewed and purchased in the South Costa Blanca.

At the Queen Sofia Arts Palace in Valencia, more
than 3000 people attended the official unveiling
of the 61 Partido Popular mayoral candidates
of municipalities with inhabitants of more than
20,000 with the newly nominated PP presidential
candidate and current President of Valencia,
Francisco Camps, on hand to introduce them.
Mónica Lorente, who is also the PP President for
Orihuela, is the current Orihuela Mayor and has
said that she will continue to work hard for the
residents of Orihuela, if its citizens decide to elect
her at the ballot boxes during the forthcoming
municipal elections on Sunday 22nd May.
Ms Lorente said that she was delighted to be
given the candidacy and said that the Partido
Popular in Orihuela was more united than ever.
The Mayor went to Valencia with members of her
existing government team, members of the local

party executive and other PP representatives from
all over the municipality.
At the official photo call for all the candidates, it
was quite apt that Ms Lorente was given the word
´Future´ to hold up to the cameras, saying that she
uses this word and the hope that it signifies as
her motto. Monica Lorente will continue working
with the same force and certainty that she always
had done and looks forward to an electoral
programme which will include working with all the
different areas of the municipality.
She said: “We will prove to all the citizens of
Orihuela, its hamlets, the coast and districts, that
the Partido Popular realises their needs, can fulfil
our promises for the future and provide a better
quality of life.”
Report provided by Louise Clarke, Ayuntamiento de Orihuela.

Focus Groups Provide Positive Feedback

The Town Hall in Orihuela
Costa has recently held two
focus groups for residents
of the coast. More than
twenty members of the
public volunteered to take
part in the discussion groups
which were organised by
the Coastal Town Hall Press
Officer, Louise Clarke. The
aim of the groups was to
speak to coastal residents to

find out what they think of
the coast and its facilities and
in the majority, the feedback
was very positive. There
were obviously some areas
of concern for the residents
and they will be addressed in
due course. All the findings
as a result of the focus groups
will be collated and put into
a report for the Councillor
for the Coast, Jose Antonio

Aniorte and the Orihuela
Mayor, Monica Lorente, and
will also be made available
to the local media and the
members of the discussion
groups should they require
it. The business focus group
which was planned has been
postponed until later in the
year.
Report provided by Louise Clarke,
Ayuntamiento de Orihuela.

Water Transfer Must Go Ahead

The President of the Valencia Generalitat, Francisco
Camps, has said that the planned water transfer
from the Ebro River to the Alicante province must
go ahead. The PP President was in the city to attend
the International Technical Conference on Water
and Employment, which was held at the IFA centre,
next to Alicante Airport. Orihuela Mayor, Monica
Lorente, and her government team attended the
conference on Saturday along with other Mayors
and Councillors from the Vega Baja; an area which
will see a huge and positive transformation when
the water pipeline does eventually arrive.
More than 2000 people were at the conference
on Saturday to hear the key note speakers, some
of whom were representing farming and water
conservation associations.
The project to transfer water from the river Ebro
in the north of the country to the drier southern
provinces was initiated seven years ago and
Camps, who last week was officially named as
the PP Presidential candidate in the forthcoming
elections, commented that finishing the project is
a priority for the Valencia Community.
“This is the biggest and most serious situation
facing us today,” said the President of the Farmer’s
Union, “and the reason that the people of this
region don’t have this essential water supply is
purely political.” He added: “Solidarity is what is
called for. We must all work together and fight to
get this project completed.”
Two million people in the region rely on water
to make a living and Princeton University Lecturer,

Dr Ignacio Rodriguez, explained why it is essential
that the work on the water transfer project
is concluded. According to his study, Water,
Prosperity and the Environment, there has been a
rapid decrease in water table levels over the last
decade and he estimates that there is currently a
loss of six metres a year in Spain.
“This is a water crisis, it is as simple as that,”
commented Dr Rodriguez. “The economic health
of this region is reliant on water and what we have
is a situation that is not sustainable.”
During his speech, the Doctor compared the
Valencia region to the Colorado Valley in the United
States of America, where the government spent
$2500 million installing 280 miles of water pipe
work for the southern half of California. “Farmers in
the area are now well supplied with water and as
a result, their farms and products are flourishing.”
Like California, Spain has 70% of water supply in
the north whilst 75% of the water demand is in the
south. “It is essential,” concluded the Doctor, “that
the River Ebro water transfer project is completed.
At the moment, desalination plants only provide
1% of the water we need and the cost to the
environment is enormous in comparison to water
transfer. The FDR and Hoover dams in the US are
inspirational and certainly achievable here in Spain.
The employment generated by such a project
would be immense. More farmers, more produce
and more businesses equal a better economy and
ultimately better lives for everyone.”

The number of Spaniards out of work rose for a second consecutive month in February, official data
showed this week, adding to government problems in cutting spending and restoring the public finances
There were nearly 4.3 million people
registered as unemployed last month in
Spain, which has the highest jobless rate
in the industrialised world, a rise of 68,260
people or 1.6 percent from January, the
labour ministry said.
Compared with 12 months ago, the figure
was up 4.0 percent or 168,638.
The rise in the number of those
unemployed and claiming benefit adds to
the squeeze on public sector finances just

as the government is trying to stamp out
fears that Spain will need an Irish-style EUbacked bailout.
Figures Tuesday showed Spain had a 2010
public deficit of 9.24 percent of economic
output, just below its target of 9.3 percent
as spending cuts by the central government
offset the missed targets of about half of the
country’s 17 regional administrations.
Spain has vowed to drive its public deficit
down below the European Union limit of
3.0 percent of Gross
Domestic Product
by 2013.
“The
latest
unemployment
data were very
disappointing,
providing
further
evidence
that
negative sentiment
in the household
economy is going to
Spain raised 3.8 billion euros ($5.2 billion), just below its target
linger during 2011,”
of 4.0 billion euros on Thursday but had to pay higher rates of
said Raj Badiani, an
returns to investors to secure the fresh funds.
economist at IHS
Concerns that eurozone debt troubles could spread to Spain
Global Insight in
pushed bond rates sharply higher last year, adding to the costs
London.
of servicing the country’s sovereign debt, and although they
“Firms continue
have steadied since, concerns remain.
to exercise a very
The government has strengthened bank balance sheets, cut
cautious approach
spending and pursued economic reforms to allay market fears
to hiring as a
that Spain may be forced to seek a rescue by the European
result of the weak
Union and IMF like Greece and Ireland last year.
domestic demand
conditions and tight
The Treasury said it sold 2.65 billion euros in five-year bonds
profit margins,” he
on Thursday at an average yield of 4.389 percent, up from 4.045
added.
percent in the last comparable auction February 3, 2011.
The government
It also sold 1.15 billion euros in three-year bonds at an average
does not provide a
yield -- the rate of return earned by buyers of the bonds -- of
jobless rate but the
3.592 percent, up from 3.254 percent in the last such auction
national
statistics
in February.
institute,
which
Demand for the five-year paper was 2.2 times the amount sold
uses a different
and three times for the shorter-dated bills.
calculation method
The Treasury had hoped to raise between 3.0 and 4.0 billion
from the labour
euros.
ministry, said in

Spain has to pay
more to raise
fresh cash

January that it stood at 20.33 percent at the
end of 2010.
That is the highest level in the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development
and topped the government target of 19.4
percent for the year.
Spain’s booming construction industry
drew millions of unskilled immigrant workers
and generated high levels of economic
growth in the decade to 2008.
But the collapse of the property bubble,
compounded by the global financial crisis,
left many people out of work, especially
immigrants and youths.
Secretary of state for employment,
Mari Luz Rodriguez, called Wednesday’s
unemployment figure “a bad number” but
she stressed that the rise in joblessness was
smaller then those posted in February of
2010 and 2009.
In October, the government raised its
forecast for the jobless rate for 2011 to 19.3
percent from a previous estimate of 18.9
percent due to the effects of spending cuts
aimed at reining in the public deficit.
It predicts the jobless rate will dip to 17.5
percent in 2012 and 16.2 percent in 2013.
The Spanish economy, the European
Union’s fifth biggest, shrank 0.1 percent
in 2010, after contracting 3.7 percent in
2009, making it one of only three eurozone
countries along with Greece and Ireland to
have shrunk last year.
The government predicts it will expand by
1.3 percent this year but the International
Monetary Fund sees growth of just 0.6
percent.
Last year, the government introduced
a hotly contested labour market reforms
which cut the country’s high cost of firing
workers and gave companies more flexibility
to reduce working hours and staff levels in
economic downturns -- changes that it
argued would boost job creation.

5

Zapatero offers help
to Tunisia as Libyan
border
crisis escalates
The Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero, today lent his support to the new regime in
Tunisia and promised the Tunisian authorities 300 million
euros worth of credit over the next years to help the
country in its transition towards democracy
Zapatero also recognised
the severity of the situation on
the border between Tunisia
and Libya and offered to send
boats and planes to ease the
refugee crisis that the country
faces.
Some 70,000 people have
fled Libya since the unrest
began two weeks ago. About
14,000 people flooded across
the border on Monday alone,
many of them Egyptian migrant
workers.
In the no-man’s land between
the Libyan and Tunisian border
posts, desperate arrivals are
being crushed against barriers
controlling access to the
Tunisian passport control and
customs area after leaving the
Libyan border post 50m away.
International relief officials
admit their efforts have been
far outpaced by developments
on the ground. “The needs are
much much greater than what
is being provided,” said Firas
Kayal, spokesman for the UN’s
refugee agency, the UNHCR.
“The situation is significantly
increasing.
The
numbers
keep flowing. There has to
be a massive international
effort to ease the situation.
Governments have to take

action, right now.”
The UNHCR has helped
the Tunisian army set up a
transit camp, that was initially
intended to shelter 10,000
people, a fraction of those
now stranded in Tunisia trying
to get home.
The massive influx is putting a
huge strain on Tunisia, as it goes
through its own tumultuous
changes. Thousands of jobless
young men have been trying
to flee to Europe by taking
boats to the Italian island of
Lampedusa, the closest point
reachable by illegal smuggling
boats.
Meanwhile,
the
Libyan
leader, Colonel Gaddafi, shows
no sign of stepping down and
has today openly criticised
the imposition of sanctions
on him and his associates.
“The UN Security Council is
not supposed to hand down
resolutions on the grounds of
media reports from outside
Libya. How can the United
Nations and Security Council
base their resolutions on false
reports?” he asks. He has also
warned that “thousands of
Libyans would be killed” in
the event of foreign military
intervention in Libya.

6

...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

Backlash over
Spain’s energy saving
Spain’s government faced a backlash from its two wealthiest regions
over plans to implement energy saving measures amid soaring oil prices
brought on by unrest in the Middle East

Madrid and Catalonia have both refused to
cut rail fares on commuter trains in their regions
arguing that the costs would be “unbearable” at a
time when they are battling to reduce burgeoning
debt.
The socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriquez
Zapatero last Friday announced emergency
energy saving measures that include lowering the
national speed limit, reducing rail fares and cutting
street lighting by 50 per cent.
The government pledged to lower the price of
commuter and short-distance rail tickets by five
per cent in a bid to encourage drivers to leave
their cars at home and take public transport as
fuel prices rocket to above 100 dollars a barrel for
the first time in two years.
But the fare reduction, which is meant to be
effective from March 7, looked in jeopardy in
both the capital and Spain’s
second largest city, Barcelona,
after the regional governments
controlling those cities argued
they should not be made to
foot the bill.
The
Catalan
government
led by the centre right CiU
party expressed fury that the
measures were announced
without consultation from the
central government.
“They invite you to a coffee;
you drink it, and they tell you
you have to pay for it,” said
Francesc Homs, the spokesman
for the Catalan government.
Catalonia, traditionally the
wealthiest region in Spain after
Madrid, is struggling to control
spiraling debt. Last year its debt
rose by 24.2 per cent to 29.5

Sport

billion euros (£25 billion) as of end of June 2010.
Meanwhile, the conservative Popular Party run
Madrid regional government said the measure
would be ineffective as it would only cover four
per cent of public transport trips yet would cost
regional authorities around 45 million euros
(£38m).
“It’s strange to be asked to cut fares when the
cost of transport is actually rising,” said José
Ignacio EcheverrÃa, regional transport minister.
The government has been forced to backtrack
on its pledge to reduce street lighting by half after
highway watchdogs argued it could lead to an
increase in road traffic accidents.
Rather than switching off lit areas or reducing
the hours of illumination the government said it
would consider a move to replace street lamps
with energy saving lightbulbs.

Thirty five years after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, Spain
is still battling for his family to return assets to the nation, STATES A
REPORT PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.

The question of what to do
with the family of a dictator
after the fall of the regime
is still a sore point in Spain,
where Gen Franco’s heirs
enjoy privileges and wealth
despite the nation’s transition
to democracy on his death in
1975.
Authorities in Galicia have
for several years been battling
to vacate the Franco family
from the Pazo de Meiras, a vast
country palace, “donated” to
Gen Franco at the end of the
1936-39 Civil War.
On the dictator’s death in
November 1975, the property,
which dates from the late 19th
century, passed to his heirs
and is still used as a country
retreat by his daughter and
grandchildren.
But the regional government
is determined to have it
recognised as a place of
“historical and cultural value”

and opened to the public.
The family has refused and the
matter is now being dealt with
in the courts.
The row sparked a national
debate over whether the
descendants of Franco, who is
said to have been responsible
for the deaths of 300,000
people during the civil war
and ensuing dictatorship,
should be allowed to
continue enjoying the spoils
of his regime.
The family assets are
estimated at somewhere
between £244 million and
£406 million but there are no
official records.
There are regular calls
for the Francos to return
other
properties
“given”
to the dictator including a
2,000-square-metre palace
outside Madrid and the 18thcentury palace of Cornilde in
Corunna.

The heirs of Franco have in
the meantime been profiting
from construction projects on
land once confiscated by the
fascist dictator.
After the death of Franco,
the transitional government
judged it better to encourage
forgiveness than to stir
antagonism that could engulf
the fledgling democracy. As a
result a tacit “pact of silence”
was introduced to avoid
recriminations over want went
on before.
It was only in 2007 in an
initiative led by Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero, the
Socialist prime minister and
grandson of a republican
executed by Franco’s soldiers,
that the state cut funding for
the Franco Foundation run by
Carmen Franco Polo, 83 yearold daughter of the dictator.

Government freezes
Gaddafi’s assets in Málaga

ECB signals that
eurozone economy
has recovered
Market Commentary 4th March 2011
The European Central Bank (ECB) gave a
crystal clear signal yesterday that it has already
made the decision to raise interest rates in the
near future. The European Central bank said in
its introductory statement to its press conference
that “strong vigilance is warranted....to contain
upside risks to price stability”.
On Thursday the ECB decided to keep rates at
1% at this month’s meeting. Speaking at a press
conference, Jean-Claude Trichet, president
at the ECB stressed that no decisions had yet
been made. “We are never precommitted. The
decision will be taken at the next meeting by the
governing council,” he said. But analysts said
it was a clear signal that a rate rise next month
was likely. Trichet, said a rate hike next month
is “possible”.
The ECB decision to keep rates on hold for
March is the 22nd-consecutive month they have
been kept at record low of 1%.
Mr Trichet said a rate increase next month
would not necessarily be the first of a series of
hikes. Nonetheless, given the momentum in
the economy and the fact that headline inflation
is likely to rise further, there must be a strong
possibility that an April hike will be followed by
at least one further move. For now, analysts have
pencilled in another hike in July. But with growth
likely to slow and inflation concerns ease later
this year, don’t expect rates to rise as far as the
markets are currently anticipating. Overall, while
the ECB’s desire to tighten policy ahead of other

Franco’s
forgotten family

central banks partly reflects the relative strength
of the euro-zone economy, its actions could deal
a further blow to the region’s weaker economies
and hence add to the risks surrounding the future
of the single currency union. In the longer run,
the ECB’s stance could therefore increase the
downside risks for the euro.
This indecision could very well explain the
trading pattern of the Euro since the conference;
a leap up in value on the statement release and
then nothing. There was no reaction in the US,
nothing in Asia and no follow through on the
European opening this morning. The proximity
to this afternoon’s US employment data might go
some way to explaining traders caginess to push
the Euro any higher. It looks far more likely that
they are unconvinced that it is the correct way
forward, preferring to side with the policy being
adopted by the US and UK of ensuring economic
recovery before trying to suppress inflation.
This morning’s release of the Halifax UK house
price survey has caused Sterling to slip a tad
with the headline number marginally worse than
expected and a weak outlook for prices over the
rest of the year.

The contents of this report are for
information purposes only. It is not intended
as a recommendation to trade or a solicitation
for funds. Currencies Direct cannot be
held responsible for any loss or damages
arising from any action taken following
consideration of this information.
Information provided by Currencies Direct,
leading providers of foreign exchange. Call to
find out how we can help you get the best rates
and save your transfer fees. Contact the Mojácar
office on 950 478 914 or 0871 218 5001 from the
UK or email almeria@currenciesdirect.com

The Spanish government has blocked Libyan
leader, Muamar el Gaddafi’s, building project
in Benahavís (Málaga), where he owns land and
had planned to build about 2,000 homes, a golf
course and a conference centre.
The Government took the decision, to comply
with the sanctions imposed by the UN and EU on
Libya last weekend, which includes the freezing
of bank accounts and assets in the name of
Colonel Gaddafi and members of his family.
Gaddafi’s land lies in the town of Benahavís,
between Marbella, Estepona and Ronda. The
embargo on the land prevents Gaddafi and
his family from “using the property for financial
gain”.
The Libyan leader and his family are thought
to have other property on the Costa del Sol,
and their assets are being analysed by the

Government and the Junta de Andalucía.
Gaddafi’s finances in Spain are also being
looked into, and any bank accounts in his
name will be frozen immediately in line with the
international sanctions.
The European Commission will today approve
the sanction ruling made by Brussels on Monday,
which also includes a ban on issuing visas for
Gaddafi and 25 other people, preventing
them from entering EU countries, and an arms
embargo.
These sanctions were issued after Gaddafi
ordered an armed military repression of
demonstrators demanding his resignation after
42 years in power.
The Libyan leader was in Málaga on a private
visit in December 2007.

Qatar promises to
invest 3 billion euros
in Spanish companies

Spain’s prime
minster, José
Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero has
had a successful
first official visit
to Qatar, where
he discussed
investments
in
Spanish
companies
with
Qatari
Prime Minister
Sheikh Hamad
bin Jassim bin
Jabr Al Thani.
Almost 300
million euros
is expected to be invested
in Spanish savings banks and
the Qatari prime minister said
the move would be to “invest
in these companies and
capitalise them”.
“We have confidence in

emir will visit
Spain on a state
visit in April.
“This will be
an
important
step
forward
for the Spanish
economy and
will consolidate
c o n f i d e n c e ,”
Zapatero said.

the Spanish economy; the
government has taken many
positive steps,” Sheikh Thani
told reporters on Monday.
Sheikh Thani is also the
head of the Qatar Investment
Authority, the Gulf state’s
sovereign wealth fund. Qatar’s

Zapatero
said the two
sides had also
agreed on more
investment by
Qatar in the
communications and energy
sectors.
Last week, Qatar said it was
open to buying stakes in part
state-owned British lenders
RBS and Lloyds Banking
Group.

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

New Eastern European
‘benefit tourism’ fears
after safeguards scrapped

Workers from former Eastern
Bloc nations will become
eligible to claim hundreds
of pounds in jobseeker’s
allowance, council tax help
and housing benefits.
Migrants will be able to
receive the benefits because
restrictions on eligibility –
introduced through a scheme
introduced by the European
Union seven years ago - are
due to be abolished in May.
Under EU law all restrictions
on citizens of new member
states must end after a seven-year “transitional” period.
Ministers conceded last night they are powerless to prevent the
changes because Britain needed to maintain “our national and
international obligations”. The three benefits combined could be
worth up to £250 a week, per person, The Times reported.
The disclosures will lead to concerns that a fresh wave of
migrants will embark on “benefit tourism” placing an even greater
strain on public finances.
Officials at the Department of Work and Pensions have pledged
to be vigilant against fraud and promised to crack down on
abusers.
Under the changes, nationals from the eight states will be able
to access the three benefits as long as they can prove they have
worked in Britain, sought more work and intend to live here.
It also means that tough rules introduced by other EU countries
will also be scrapped. At the time the EU expanded only Britain,
the Irish Republic and Sweden opened up their jobs market.
It means that countries such as Germany and Austria will be
opening their doors to workers for the first time from May.
The scheme was introduced by Labour ministers in 2004 amid
concerns that migrants from poor nations would arrive in Britain
en masse.
After it was introduced following eight former Soviet bloc states

Tens of thousands
of Eastern European
migrants will be able
to claim increased
benefits in Britain
within weeks because
the government
is being forced to
scrap safeguards on
receiving handouts.

joining the EU it led to “the largest single wave of foreign inmovement ever experienced by the UK”, according to the Office
for National Statistics (ONS).
Migrants were barred from receiving jobseeker’s allowance,
housing and council tax benefit unless they had worked here
continuously for twelve months. But very few qualified mainly due
to their work was seasonal.
Official figures show that since 2005 hundreds of thousands of
migrants have registered to work, reaching a peak of 224,195 in
2006.
That number fell after that but rose at the end of last year as
Britain emerged from recession.
Damian Green, the Immigration Minister, said the Coalition
would impose “transition controls2 on all new EU member states
in future.
“We’re in the process of delivering major reform to bring
immigration down to tens of thousands with the introduction of
a new limit on economic migrants from outside the EU,” he said.
A DWP spokesman added: “We have to remain in line with our
national and international obligations.
“However, it is absolutely necessary to protect the taxpayer and
the benefit system from possible abuse. This is our No 1 priority.”

7

EU to scrap
controversial
fishing restrictions

Under the EU Common
Fisheries Policy, fishing
fleets are governed by
catch limits and cannot land
any “by-catch”, fish they
have netted accidentally
or which are over their
allocated quota.
The so-called “discard”
is thrown back, dead, into
the sea.
Maria
Damanaki,
the
Greek fishing commissioner,
on Tuesday pledged to end
this practice after a growing
campaign against it.

”This is unacceptable.
We have to abandon
discarding.”
Hugh
FearnleyWhittingstall,
the
television celebrity chef,
has campaigned on the
issue with over 650,000
people signing a petition
supporting a ban.
British trials have begun
on new rules in the North
Sea cod fishery involving
23 English and Scottish
vessels.

John Galliano to stand trial
Disgraced fashion designer John Galliano, will face trial over
an incident at a Paris café during which he allegedly hurled
anti-Semitic and racist abuse at Géraldine Bloch, 35, and her
companion Philippe Virgiti, 41.
The Paris Prosecutors Office has issued a statement saying it
has decided to put John Galliano on trial following a police
investigation. The proceedings could take place in the second
quarter of this year, and Galliano could face up to six months
in prison, and up to €22,500 in fines, if convicted.
Galliano, who was fired from his role as creative director of
Christian Dior over the allegations, issued a personal statement
on 2nd March, completely denying the claims made against
him, renouncing anti-Semitism and racism, and apologising
unreservedly for any offence his behaviour has caused.
It is believed Galliano has now left France and he is reported
to be attending a rehabilitation facility, most likely The Meadows
in Arizona.
Christian Dior intend to go ahead with their autumn/
winter 2011 show this Friday at Paris Fashion Week, but
whether Galliano will show his eponymous line on Sunday is
unconfirmed.

The decision adds 13.2m euros
to the European Parliament’s
2011 budget.
The extra cash will enable
MEPs to hire more, or better
qualified, assistants, a parliament
statement said.
Last year the 27 EU member
states’ governments limited the
total EU budget rise for 2011
to 2.9% - not the 6% that MEPs
wanted. MEPs’ pre-tax monthly
salary is set at 7,956.87 euros.
MEPs also received a 1,500euro increase in their office
allowance last year. They

defended the budget rise by
arguing that the Lisbon Treaty
- which greatly boosted the
parliament’s powers - had
increased their workload.
On top of their salary, the latest
increase will raise MEPs’ monthly
4,299-euro office allowance to
5,799 euros.
Their official trips to Brussels
and Strasbourg are refunded,
and they get a separate annual
travel allowance of 4,243 euros.
In addition, MEPs get a flat-rate
allowance of 304 euros for each
day of attendance at official

parliament meetings, to cover
accommodation and meals.
It is paid only if they sign the
attendance register.
The office allowance increase
was adopted by the parliament’s
budgetary control committee
on Thursday.
The largest MEP groupings
- the centre-right European
People’s Party (EPP) and centreleft Socialists and Democrats
(S&D) - backed the increase.
It was opposed by the liberals
(ALDE), left-wingers and the
Greens.

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Oil price rises as
Libya tensions grow
Oil prices rose more than a dollar as fighting in Libya intensified

Brent crude climbed as high
as $116.20 a barrel, up over 1%,
amid fears that the crisis could
spread from North Africa to oilrich countries in the Gulf. A Libyan
warplane dropped bombs just
beyond the walls of a military base
held by rebels in the eastern town
of Ajdabiyah but did not hit it,
Reuters reported.
The latest rise in oil prices comes
as Chris Huhne, the UK’s climate
and energy secretary, warned of
a 1970s-style oil shock. He said if
the oil price doubles from $80 a
barrel last year to $160 a barrel this
year, this could wipe £45bn off
the value of the British economy
in the next two years. “This is not
just far-off speculation: it is a threat

here and now,” he said.
The crisis has disrupted oil
production in Libya, which usually
pumps 1.6m barrels of crude a
day.
Fatih Birol, the International
Energy Agency’s chief economist,
repeated his warning that the
surge in oil prices could derail the
global economic recovery. “The
age of cheap oil is over, though
policy action could bring lower
international prices than would
otherwise be the case,” he said at
a conference in Berlin this week.
If prices held at current levels,
Europe’s oil costs would be higher
than in 2008, a record year for
prices, he warned.
“Europe is the weakest link in

the chain of economic recovery
... In Europe, 75% of the gas prices
are linked to oil prices. In a few
months gas prices are going to
increase,” said Birol.
The IEA is considering tapping its
strategic oil reserves, he reiterated
in an interview with the Financial
Times Deutschland. “We are
monitoring the situation from hour
to hour very closely and are in
close contact with governments,”
Birol said. “We can bring 2 million
barrels onto the market every day
and that for two years without
a pause. At the moment, Saudi
Arabia is making up for the shortfall
caused by the Libyan crisis by
stepping up its own production.

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A pup who was found abandoned by the side of the road is to be
trained as a diabetes detection dog after he amazed his rescuers with
his sensitive nose.
Tiny the Jack Russell was starving and covered in mange and vets did
not expect him to survive, but the 13-month-old made a full recovery.
He then amazed staff at the Blue Cross animal charity in Burford by
smelling sugary snacks from up to 30ft away. They noticed he became
agitated and barked whenever someone brought their lunch into
the centre. He is now set to leave the centre to train as a Diabetes
Detection Dog so he can warn sufferers if their blood sugar levels are
dropping dangerously low.
Laura Jeffries from Blue Cross, said: ‘Tiny is very food focused. He will
sniff your pockets for food and bark whenever you have anything like

a chocolate bar
on you.
‘One time he
was
barking
and no one
knew why until
theydiscovered
a chocolate bar
had been left in
the office 30ft
away. He’s got
an incredible
gift.
‘Five weeks
ago Tiny was
wandering the
streets alone
and now he is getting the chance to turn his luck around.
‘He may be small but he could have a big impact on someone’s
life.’
He will now undergo three months intensive training where he will
be taught to smell the difference in blood sugar levels of people
suffering from diabetes.
The training involves the dogs sniffing the patient’s breath and body
odour which is sweeter if they become hypolycaemic - when their
blood sugar drops dangerously low.
Claire Guest, of Medical Detection Dogs, said: ‘The job of a medical
detection dog requires a special character, intelligent, biddable and
able to use initiative.
‘Many rescue dogs show these qualities. We have high hopes for
Tiny.’

An Environmental Disaster or Common Sense?
Former
Ibizan
resident and
international
recording
artist Jack
Green has
released
eleven new
songs on
Tunited.com,
his first in
over twenty
five years. ‘Mediterranean White’ is a beautiful tribute tune to the oasis
that Spain is and continues to be. As Green comments, “There’s a part of
my heart that will always remain there”. Green now resides in England with
his beautiful wife of many years Jackie and operates a Video Production
company, “Studio 9” on the Isle of Wight

CALIDA COUNTRY
MUSIC CLUB
LA MOLATA, CAÑADA DE ALHAMA

What a fantastic night was had by all at the club on 18 February, when we
were superbly entertained by the amazing ‘Prospectors’ duo all the way
from Benidorm! The dance floor was full all night and we were also treated
to some fantastic fiddle & mandolin solo’s – all in that special ‘country style’.
They’re back next January!! The club meets on a fortnightly basis on the 1st
and 3rd Friday of each month from 8.00pm until midnight. It’s not a ‘members
only’ club and all are invited to come along. The fortnightly entertainment
consists of a mix of Live Entertainment, Country Music Disco, all styles of
dancing – western partner, country rock, line dancing plus possible dancing
tuition for those who want to learn, request spots, etc – and even Country
Music Karaoke.
The Social Club in La Molata, Los Muñoces – near Cañadas de Alhama is
located just off the RM2/MU 603, around 10km from Camposol. Boasting a
large dance floor, it’s also a licensed premises with drinks at Spanish prices
and our hosts, Antonio & Cheryl, maintain a superb kitchen. The ‘fish and
chips’ are to die for! Advance bookings for meals can be made to Cheryl on
619 003 022
The club is designed as a non-profit making organisation but, having said
that, we charge a small entrance fee of €5.00 per couple (or €3 per single)
together with a raffle held on each club night to pay for the Live Artists and
club running costs. Net profits from any income are to be donated, via the
Lions Club of Mazarrón Bahía, to the joint Lions/PALS C.A.F.E. appeal.
Our programme for the next few months starts with, all the way from
England, a special return appearance of the fabulous CACTUS JACK, and
continues with Costa Calida’s answer to Garth Brooks, the amazing RED
STROKES!
On 20 May we look forward to the welcome return of a legend. The British
Country Music Award winning PHIL BRADY and, taking us into the summer,
from the Beagles duo – and in true ‘Country Mode – we’ve managed to secure
a night’s entertainment by the ever popular MARTY ROSS.
In outline, our programme for the next few months is...
Fri 04 Mar

Country Disco/Karaoke

Fri 18 Mar

CACTUS JACK

Fri 01 Apr

Country Disco/Karaoke

Fri 15 Apr

RED STROKES

Fri 06 May

Country Disco/Karaoke

Fri 20 May

PHIL BRADY

Fri 03 Jun

Country Disco/Karaoke

Fri 17 Jun

MARTY ROSS

Put a note in your diary now!! We’d love to see you there!!
JUST REMEMBER – KEEP IT COUNTRY
For further details contact Mervyn Booth on 968 163 082

Not a secret beach, but it’s out of the way, and unless the traveller around the headframes and adits of La Union and Portman, knows both where it is and more importantly,
where to turn off to reach the little bay, it can remain unvisited by many.
This small bay, just off
the MU 320 is reached by
a rough track that follows
El Gorguel dry river bed. If
the motorist braves both
passing over, and then
under, an arched bridge,
which, for as long as I have
known it, looks as if if will
collapse at any time, he
or she, will be rewarded
at the end of the narrow,
twisting track, by the sight
of waves, crashing onto a
beach of jet black “Lunar”
sand. Under the shelter of
the cliffs, cluster a number of summer fisherman’s houses, built from the flotsam and jetsam
that the Mediterranean now and again, throws onto the beach, an idyllic location.
Sadly, or there again, excitingly, dependent upon your point of view, the Autoridad
Portuaria de Cartagena are looking to invest 1,100 millions of euro, to build a container
port in this little bay. The port would stretch between the Cola del Caballo and the Punta
Escucha, totally destroying the Playa del Gorguel.
A twin track rain tunnel would be blasted out of the Punta Escucha headland, to enable
freight trains to connect with the main line at Cartagena. The port would look to employ
some 3,000 employees. In the first year of operation, two million tonnes of freight would be
moved through the port, with some 3,500 million tonnes by year two.
Portman Bay, just around the headland, is not happy. The large cost of moving all the
polluted mine waste, that was dumped into their waters, during the mining days, along
with a promised new sandy beach, would all seem a little wasted, when the view from
both deckchair and moored cabin cruiser, would be container ships, plying backwards and
forwards, into the adjoining bay. Ecologist’s are concerned about the wild life and delicate
plant life that thrives so well on these uninhabited headlands.
So, is it sensible to offer work to 3,000 people in this corner of Spain? Of course it is! Is it
sensible to protect and preserve the beautiful coastline, along this this and other sections
of the Mediterraneo? Of course it is!
It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of readers - I would not like to call the shot
on this one! The photograph gives an idea as to how the port would encroach along this
coastline.

By Rob Barnes - email: garfieldglencroft@hotmail.com

9

10

...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

Content is king at
‘A Place in the Sun Live’
Show organisers focus on the better informed buyer
A Place in the Sun Live is all about - and only
about - overseas property. This market-leading,
three-day event is the biggest and best-attended
overseas property show of the year. With 6,127
visitors attending the show in 2010, an audience
of over 7,000 visitors is expected at the London
spring 2011 show, highlighting the continuing
appeal to the British public of buying abroad

Visitors to March’s A Place in the Sun Live
will leave the show as better informed buyers,
thanks to the exhibition’s enhanced feature
content.
A series of areas dedicated to specific countries
will formalise the show’s deeper content by
giving individual countries a whole day to put
advice forward, rather than just one-hour slots.

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Sol Times News Group cannot be held responsible for claims made by advertisers, nor can it
be held responsible for errors in advertisements caused by poor quality text, photographs or
layout instructions. Furthermore, no responsibility can be accepted for any loss or damage
resulting caused by any error, inaccuracy or non-appearance of an advertisement. Deposito
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The specialist areas include a new feature - The
Florida Pavilion - focusing on the sunshine state,
a perennial favourite among UK buyers. The
Florida Pavilion will be joined by:
The French Village featuring a mix of agents and
developers specialising in French properties,
with thousands of homes for sale alongside
a detailed seminar programme covering all
aspects of buying and living in France;
The Spanish Village offering a huge selection
of bargain properties from across the Spanish
Costa; and
The Portuguese Pavilion, in association with
the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, bringing
together developers, agents and legal experts
to give an insight into all that Portugal has to

offer.
“This year, more than ever, it’s all about
content,” said Andy Bridge, MD of show organiser
APITS Ltd. “We’re focusing on education and
information to help create the better informed
buyer. Today’s overseas property buyers are
understandably more cautious, and need better
information before committing to a purchase.
They’ll find everything they need at A Place in
the Sun Live.”
Alongside the additional features, the Earl’s
Court show will host over 150 stands from
exhibitors representing more than 40 countries
worldwide and featuring properties to suit
all pockets – from under £20,000 to over
£1million.

ZUMBATHON

®

...Dance for a cause!

If you haven’t heard of ZUMBA® already you soon will.
The craze that has taken the world of fitness and dance
by storm has hit Spain. Known to many as a fitness
party, the ZUMBA® program combines unique dance
moves and hot international tunes to create a party
atmosphere where you can dance, have fun and get
fit at the same time. The brain child of Columbian
dancer Beto Perez, the ZUMBA® program came
about by accident, when rushing to teach an aerobics
class one day he forgot his music so he grabbed a few
of his favourite Latin CDs from his car and improvised a
Latin inspired workout. ZUMBA® was born. The ZUMBA®
program has transformed the lives of millions of people
worldwide. ZUMBA® doesn’t see race, religion, and colour. ZUMBA®
brings people together. It is not just a workout it is a way of life, once you try
ZUMBA® you are hooked. Not only do you see the difference in your body
and energy levels but you will find your self dancing round the house and
unable to wait for your next class. That is probably why ZUMBA® has been
so successful you won’t dread going to work out because it is fun so you stick
to it, it works.
ZUMBA® has only just arrived on the Costa Almeria and is already making
waves.
Top ZUMBA® instructor from the Costa Almeria, Rachel Medi and her partner
at ZUMBASPAIN, ZUMBA® education Specialist Hermann Melo are hoping
to make ZUMBA® history here in Spain when they host their ZUMBATHON®
in Mojacar this spring to raise much needed funds for the AECC, Spains
national cancer charity. If have never been to a ZUMBATHON® I suggest you
try it. This one an a half hour dance party will have you all up out your seats

and pumping for a great course.
Hermann, Rachel and other top ZUMBA® dancers
including Kimberley Harrison will travel from all over
Spain to show the Costa Almeria how to get down.
Any fitness level, any age, there are no stipulations
except to have fun! ‘Just listen to the music, move
your body and follow our lead, the AECC does
amazing work and I’m very excited about this event’,
says Rachel [zumba instructors network TM]
The AECC are extremely excited about the event,
ZUMBA® has been raising money for cancer for over
ten years with their world famous party in the pink dance
events and now it is Spain’s turn to spread some ZUMBA®
LOVE.
The ZUMBATHON®, hosted by Rachel Medi [zumba instructors
network] and Hermann Melo [zumba education specialist] in association with
Indigo Gymnasium and the AECC will be held at La Mar Salada on Mojacar
Playa 19.00 on the 1st of April. The event is being supported by political party
Mojacar Se Mueve who has a real interest in supporting tourism in the area
and believes that ZUMBA® might be just the thing that helps put Mojacar’s
party scene back on the map. Front runner Jessica Simpson regularly takes
part in Rachel’s ZUMBA® classes in Mojacar and will be one of the dancers
from Rachel’s troup making an appearance on stage on the day.
Tickets cost just five euros for all, and all proceeds will go the the AECC there
will be various merchandise and nutritional advice available on the day and a
chance to chat with Rachel and the other instructors.
For more information and to purchase tickets check out www.zumbaspain.
com where you can email Rachel directly OR drop in to Indigo Gymnasium on
Mojacar Playa or see Jessica Simpson, KILOMBO in Mojacar Pueblo.

Short-sellers usually borrow
shares or bonds, sell them,
then buy them back when
the stock falls - pocketing
the difference.
A new directive places
conditions on the use of
credit defaults swaps (CDS)
- a form of government debt
insurance.
Under the new rules those
traders who want to “short”
a CDS would have to own
the underlying government
bond before they could sell
it.
Some MEPs argue that
the practice of naked short
selling exacerbated the
financial crisis, with the
borrowing costs of countries
like Greece being driven up
by “speculation” on government debt.
They argue that traders have an incentive to drive down the
price of a share or bond - and thereby needlessly damage a
company or an economy.
“This regulation takes one more step towards curbing
speculation and improving transparency in the financial
services sector,” MEPs said in a statement.
Others however argue that this form of short selling keeps
assets liquid and performs a valuable secondary function
of alerting the market when a stock or bond is incorrectly
priced.
Andrew Baker, chief executive of AIMA - the hedge fund

MEPs have voted in favour
of restricting the practice
of “naked” short selling.
“Naked” short-selling
is when a trader sells
financial instruments he
has not yet borrowed.

KRUGER CANOPIES
trade association - says that if this directive were introduced
it would have negative impact on global debt markets.
“Debt markets would be less efficient, liquid and
transparent. The cost of borrowing would increase and the
availability of credit to borrowers would decrease, with a
concomitant negative impact on growth and jobs,” Mr Baker
said in a statement.
However the vote in favour of the proposed directive does
not mean it will be immediately implemented.
It will still have to be negotiated with the European
Commission and the heads of government, within the
Council of Ministers.

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An apple a day could keep the
undertaker away. Scientists have linked
the fruit with a longer life – at least in
flies!
Fruit flies, which share many genes with
humans despite their tiny size, were
either fed normally
or had an

apple extract added. Those fed normally
lived an average of 50 days – five days
fewer than those whose food was
supplemented with apple, the Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
reports.

tests.’

Not only did the flies given the apple
extract live ten per cent longer, they also
found it easier to walk, climb and move
about as they aged.

The apple’s genetic code has recently
been cracked, paving the way for
crunchier, juicier and healthier fruits.

The apple extract also cut levels
of various biochemicals found in
older fruit flies and linked to agerelated deterioration.
The researchers, from the
Chinese University of Hong
Kong, believe that the
antioxidants
in
the
extract mopped up free
radicals – dangerous
chemicals
blamed
for a host of ills,
including ageing.
A
spokesman
for the American
Chemical Society
said: ‘The results,
obtained with fruit
flies – standins for humans
in hundreds of
research projects
each year – bolster
similar findings on
apple antioxidants
in other animal

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In another study, researchers who
quizzed thousands of women about their
diets found that those who regularly ate
apples were 20 per cent less likely to
suffer heart attacks and strokes.

Researchers are already using the
information to grow red-fleshed apples
bursting with antioxidants credited
with keeping eyes and joints healthy
and warding off heart disease, cancer,
Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.
Apples that suppress appetite could
also be in the pipeline, with the first ‘extrahealthy’ apples on supermarket shelves
within just four to five years.
The decoding of the apple’s DNA by a
team of almost 100 scientists from five
countries has also shed new light on its
roots.
The research suggests that around
65million years ago, the time when a
comet is thought to have wiped out the
dinosaurs, the plant that would eventually
give rise to the apple tree underwent a
massive and rapid genetic change, in
which many of its genes were duplicated.
The extra genes allowed the apple to
adapt to tougher conditions and sent it
along a different evolutionary path from
peaches, strawberries and other related
fruit.

The drug is commonly used to ease aches and
pains but US research, in Neurology journal,
found it had an added benefit. In studies of
more than 135,000 men and women regular
users of ibuprofen were 40% less likely to
develop Parkinson’s. However, experts say it is
too early to say whether the benefits of taking
the drug outweigh the risk of side effects such
as gastrointestinal bleeding.

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A recent study also linked ibuprofen taken
daily for some years to a small increased risk of
heart attack and stroke.

Lead researcher Professor Alberto Ascherio, of the Harvard
School of Public Health, said: “There is no cure for Parkinson’s
disease, so the possibility that ibuprofen, an existing and
relatively non-toxic drug, could help protect against the
disease is captivating.”
In his study, funded by the Michael J Fox Foundation,
men and women who used ibuprofen two or more times a
week reduced their risk of Parkinson’s disease by more than
a third compared with those who regularly used aspirin,
acetaminophen, or other NSAIDs.
Dr Kieran Breen, director of Research and Development
at Parkinson’s UK, said it was difficult to know exactly what
effect ibuprofen might be having on the death of nerve cells
in the brain, and how it might affect whether somebody will
get Parkinson’s. But based on the findings of this latest study,
he said there would seem to be an interesting link.
He said: “We know that inflammatory changes in the brain
may be involved in the death of nerve cells which cause
Parkinson’s, particularly in the early stages of the condition.

Have you tried it yet?

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As to why ibuprofen alone might have the desired effect,
the US researchers say it could be down to the fact that this
drug has a specific role in blocking a biological pathway of
cell damage and death.

The cause of all negative emotions is
a disruption in the energy system.
E.F.T. balances the energy system &
removes negative emotion.

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Enrique Arias, N.D, D.O

“We are currently funding research into this area ourselves
at the University of Oxford.”

Emotional freedom
technique

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This most recent study suggests it is ibuprofen
alone that has an effect. But like all NSAIDs, ibuprofen
can cause worrying side effects, like an increased risk
of gastrointestinal bleeding.

If it did, it could offer a new way of managing this incurable
neurological condition.

Making your
Life Easier
Tel: 902 02 64 68

S.L

Scientists have suspected for some time
that anti-inflammatory drugs might help
buffer against the disease but it was unclear
which ones in the family of non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs conferred a
benefit.

The findings relate to non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs like ibuprofen prescribed
long-term to treat painful conditions such as
arthritis. For this reason experts say more work is needed
to determine whether the benefits of taking the drug more
often would outweigh any risks.

13

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Gymnastics
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Saturday Mornings
Discounts for siblings
Monday class 3.30 - 4.30

MARCH
offer
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(1 offer per person)
available on
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Call Claire: 639 089 170
Podiatrist
(Chriropodist)

Lois Benson BSc (Hons) MChs

Tel: 617 878 864

Clinics in: Albox at Cutting Edge
& Arboleas at Sophias.
Mobile service available in Mojacar,
Vera and surrounding areas.

Poor Manners Bequile Your New
Found Intelligence! Part II
Last time I told you about you could
get by in Spain knowing less than 600
words, and how to use your new
found linguistic honours, so this week
I am going to take a look at how a long
with these new linguistic skills and
friendships comes the inevitable social
graces of common manners a detail
of absolute paramount importance
in this sunny country where little of
actual importance seems to occur.
Not greeting a friend you haven’t seen
in four minutes or waving wildly at
your neighbour and acknowledging his presence is a shameless error of
criminal proportions.
Greeting (acknowledging) everyone’s being upon entering a public
room or restaurant is fundamental. It is a “Good Morning” to all and
leaving is no different. In the meantime, if you know anyone personally in
that room they must be acknowledged. Everyone in that room wants to
know where have you been all day, with whom? What you talked about?
What you’re having to eat? Why? And seek for the smallest crumb of new
information, even if a lie or an improbable rumour.
Years back while rushing out of a restaurant, late for some toros, I
swiftly paid a small bill. It was high, the more I contemplated my obvious
and flagrant rape I insisted I go back and have a proper argument. No
said my Sevillano friend, wait until after the corrida and I will show you
what to do. We went back but not to the errant bar but to the one
right next door. Then my friend instructed me to gripe, bitch, shout and
tell the new bartender and all the patrons how I had been cheated.
“Be forceful, just like you’re talking to the man that robbed you”. Didn’t
make sense to me but the following day as I game out of the very large
and full Real Maenstraza of Sevilla I was greeted by none other than the
actual robber who effusely greeted me and insisted I return to his bar
for drinks and tapas so the toros could be discussed. Manner dictated
that no apology was issued nor asked for. The conversation was forced
but made and soon forgotten.

Ric Polansky is one of Mojacar’s most colourful residents and the owner
of Polansky & Assoc (www.mojacar-sales.com). His column is sponsored
by Bay Radio Costa Almería: Turre 91.5 FM and Mojacar 95.5 FM Online:
www.bayradio.fm. You can read more of Ric’s writing on and on www.ricpolansky.com and www.torosbravos.es, his life long passion!

‘Life in the
Grey’
…the grey area between
right and wrong, legal
and illegal!

After living on the Costa del Sol for
several years, I finally came across an
angle for which to base a documentary
regarding the ‘the coast’. Something I had
wanted to do for many years.
I used to watch the series on English television
‘Costa del Crime’ and more recently ‘Benidorm’;
the people are fascinating, especially to the
British back in Britain.
Almost a year ago I met yet another new face on
the Costa del Sol ‘The Coast’- as we call it down
here. Having learned his story over the following
months, I had my base storyline and the creativity
and expansion flowed. In fact, there is a funny
story to our initial meetings! On 2 occasions Ian
R.D.M purposely gave me an incorrect mobile
number to contact him on - a joke we often revisit
when he asks me to call him and I reply by saying
‘On which number? You gave me 3 remember!’
He explained, that at the time that he didn’t
know me very well and never gave his number
out. Unlike most people you meet, he didn’t
talk about himself; in fact, nobody really knew
anything about him accept he was ‘a nice guy’
and ‘a bit posh’. Ian had a very articulate and
eloquent way of effectively saying ‘this and that’,
when asked what he did.
Having spent time in Mojacar and Marbella on
the Costa del Sol, he mentioned that Mojacar is
different to every other ex-pat location in Spain:
“People there seem normal! They don’t have too
many stories, which is nice.”
I was shown an article where a journalist,

liaising
with a radio presenter said, “Ian R.D.M; councillor,
master of philosophy, educated, eloquent and
erudite…a great subject for discussion”.
He was right! Ian’s ‘life in the grey’ include the
worlds of academic philosophy, politics, finance
and banking. The documentary travels from the
coast ‘del Sol’ up to Mojacar and features some
extraordinary stories. What’s more interesting
to me personally, as a Bulgarian, is how people
almost choose a life of unnecessary risk. We took
risks growing up in Bulgaria because we had no
choice, but Brits have so many choices and so
much help from banks and the government; is it
out of greed perhaps?
Or does the heat from the Spanish sun fuel us
with a care free attitude?
My documentary will conclude on these points.
I love the coast! I love the stories! I love this
project! I look forward to capturing the innocents
of Mojacar!

To find out more or if you want to get
involved please e-mail: lifeinthegrey@
ymail.com
There will be a website where you can
follow the progress and watch the clips
as they are made.
Chris J. B.

True Confessions of a Doctor

Dear Friends,
It is rarely pleasant for true confessions; in fact they can be very rough. Nonetheless confessions set the truth free and keep the record straight.
It allows me to give credit, where it is due. Before I talk about my confession, I would like to say a few things first.

Many years ago, as a child, something happened to me
that changed my life forever. Let me tell you my story:
“When I was7 my family and I moved West across
the United Sates. It was an exciting time to travel,
find a new home; meet new friends and have a
new life full of adventure. Then one day a car in a
crosswalk bumped my mother. It was very light and
she barely fell over – but then she couldn’t get up.
At first I thought she was joking until the ambulance
arrived to assist us.
Upon arriving at the hospital the doctors did their
best but could not discover anything wrong. She was
prescribed painkillers and muscle relaxants and sent
home with the prognosis that all would be well in a
few days. Within a few days, with much dismay, the
symptoms did not alleviate in fact they worsened.
This time the doctor prescribed even stronger
medication and instructed her to go to physical
therapy three times a week.
We left with new hope. She began her physical
therapy care. Unfortunately it did not get the results
we so desired. In fact my mother would come home
in tears after every session and remained bedridden.
Three months transpired with physical therapy and
now my mother’s trouble began to impact me. With
my father out of the home it left me responsible for
cooking, cleaning, walking the dog and caring for my
mother and myself. Suddenly my adventure at 7 was
quite different and not so exciting.
She visited other therapists without results. Time
continued to elapse. She spoke with her doctor
again who referred her to an orthopedic surgeon.
Unfortunately nothing was discovered and surgery to
cut & kill the nerve trunk was the only option. This
seemed ridiculous for my mother. She was only 26
and now bedridden, taking over 10 tablets a day
with extreme pain debilitating almost all activities
and unable to care for me properly. She had always
been physically fit and the accident was so minor.
As time passed my mothers’ health continued to
decline. After nearly two years of being bedridden,
using all remedies offered, conventional or not, the
doctors finally decided to send her to a special
hospital where they would teach you how live with
the pain. They had given up and ran out of options.
One day at the hospital I heard a passing

conversation about a local chiropractor. Curious
to discover more I eves dropped. Now at the age
of nine and very mature for my age I listened and
heard of a possibility. Others had gone for differing
troubles and many had positive results. I quickly
rushed to inform my mother. My mother was very
despondent and not very receptive. Still I pleaded
with her; it was our last chance for hope. I can be
very persuasive and finally she conceded to visiting
the chiropractor.
The chiropractor did a thorough
consultation, examination and
a detailed report where
he fully explained my
mother’s trouble. He then
proceeded to adjust the
spine of my mother. After
the adjustment my mother
was able to stand up
straight and without pain
for the first time in two
years. My mother’s health
soon returned. After a
few weeks she no longer
needed the assortment
of medication. In a few
months she had returned to
the mother I remembered at 7.
She no longer had what the doctors
called a short leg since she was a child.
Her menstruation returned to normal and she
never again suffered from periodic headaches. My
mother was back and better than ever!
After two years of hospitals I witnessed a great deal
of suffering, the results while at the chiropractor were
so astounding that I was inclined to go to chiropractic
school and become a chiropractor myself. It is strange
how life can come full circle because now people
come to see me with their health problems. They
come to me with their headaches, migraines, chronic
pain, neck pain, shoulder/arm pain, whiplash from
car accidents, backaches, ear infections, asthmas
allergies, numbness in limbs athletic injuries just to
name a few, they get such great results that some of
my clients have decided to study chiropractic.
And that is how it happened!”
Here’s what some of my clients say:

My daughter was asthmatic taking inhalers and
medication daily. She was sidelined and unable
to play with her classmates; now her health has
improved so much she no longer uses medication
or inhalers and is the captain of the football team!
(L. Hamn)
After injuring my back I could only play a hole or
two, of golf, for almost two years. I was about to
give up the game. This is serious because I am
a professional golfer. I laughed at Dr.
Jensen when he said I would be out
playing again after only 2 weeks!
But it was true and now I am
at the top of my game. (S.
Fernandez)
I have suffered with
constant
headaches
and migraines since my
childhood, the moment
that I met Dr. Paul
and he adjusted me a
miracle happened, no
more headaches and no
more painkillers. Thank
you for exposing me to
the wonderful world of
Chiropractic, I couldn’t imagine
my life without it. (R. Sastre)
I am honored to have helped so many
people with their health care problems but
I cannot really take credit. My confession is that I have
never healed anyone of anything. What I do is perform a
specific spinal adjustment to remove nerve pressure,
and the body responds by healing itself. We get
tremendous results. It’s as simple as that!
It is very challenging to be a chiropractor today.
There are many so-called experts out there with
extreme misinformation, much of which is ridiculous.
But the studies speak for themselves, like the Virginia,
USA study that showed over 95% of people who
saw a chiropractor were satisfied with their results.
That is outstanding!
Studies show that chiropractic may double your
immune capacity, naturally and without drugs.
The immunes system fights colds, the flu and other
sicknesses. The results? You may not be sick in bed

as much. This is especially important when you are
self-employed.
Benefit from an Amazing Offer
Would you like to see if chiropractic is the solution to your
health problems? Would you like to see for yourself
it it’s as easy and as effective as I say it is? Sure you
would! And now here’s the best part. When you
bring in this article by this Friday you will receive my
entire new client exam and report for only 35 euro.
That includes a postural analysis, a spinal thermo
graphic and sEMG scans and a detailed report of
your findings. Everything!
How can such an offer be made? The answer is
simple. I know that chiropractic works so well I am
willing to take most of the risk.
I hope that you accept my offer. Let’s discover if
chiropractic can help you. You cannot lose – but
you sure can win! Be happy to know that I have
affordable individual or family plans.
Not only great fees….but great care!
I am very confident in my ability to provide you
great care. I have studied many years with a group
of elite chiropractors that have spent years and
thousands of euros to remain on the cutting edge
of or practice, technology, research and strategies.
Our care is gentle and effective.
As a result I have been entrusted to care for
everyone, including newborn babies, delicate
seniors and tough athletes.
My staff is great, they create a warm and caring
atmosphere that welcomes all, I am sure you will
think so too. Our office is called “Estilo de Vida”
Centro Chiropractico. You can locate us at c/Mayor
#19 Garrucha. Our phone number is: Tel: 950
460 953 or Mob: 605 322 612. Call my staff for an
appointment so we can help you!
For Optimum Health,Dr. Paul Jensen
P.S. This offer extends to all your family members
for the same great fee.
P.P.S. Can you believe not having to wait for your
appointment? We have a no-wait policy. Your time
is valuable to us both; therefore you will be seen
within minutes of your scheduled appointment. That
is how we can serve busy people like you.

www.soltimes.com
Mainland Spain has distinct climatic zones:
The Atlantic climate of the northern coast, where the
average temperature is 9C in winter and 18C in summer
is also the wettest part of the peninsula. The annual
rainfall here is between 800-1500mm, particularly in
autumn and winter. Summers are cooler and wetter
than in the rest of Spain, but still plenty of sunshine!
The Continental Mediterranean climate of the
interior central plateau, or meseta, has temperatures
-15C in winter; -20C occurs regularly, while summer
temperatures average at 24C. The annual rainfall is
under 400mm. with heavy snowfalls in winter.
There is a Castilian expression: “nueve meses de
invierno y tres meses de infierno” translates as ‘nine
months of winter and three months of hell!’.
The predominant Mediterranean climate - the eastern
and southern coast and much of the Guadalquivir
Valley – has average temperatures of 11C in winter and
23C in summer, with an annual rainfall between 250
mm and 600 mm.
The official record of the lowest temperature in Spain
is at Estany Gento in Lerida with -32C in 1956, though
on peaks in the Aragonese Pyrenees it can easily fall
to -40C.
On peaks above 2,500m in the Pyrenees, Picos de
Europa, Sistema Central & Ibérico and Sierra Nevada
it snows between 90 and 120 days a year. In fact the
Sierra Nevada hopes for snow from October to June,
though it only hangs on in the highest and shadiest
spots. Snow does, however, remain all the year round
in the glaciers of the Pyrenees. Unsurprisingly the
valleys of the Sistema Ibérica have the highest numbers
of frosts, with Calamocha and Molina de Aragón having
an average of 120 frosts per year.
On the other hand, Ecija, known as the ‘sartén or
frying pan of Andalucia’, has the highest temperatures,
at around 47ºC.
Due to the curvature of the earth, and their respective
positions upon it, there is a significant difference in

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

sunlight received at Bilbao in the north, which receives
1,525 sunlight hours, down to the Costa de La Luz in
the south, where Huelva and Cadiz receive around
3000 hours.
Taking this statistic a little further, there is a rule of
thumb which gives a decrease in average temperature
of 0.65C for every 100m in altitude ascended. This
means that there is a difference of some 22C between
the freezing peaks of Mulhacen - the ceiling of the
Sierra Nevada at 3,478m - and the semi-tropical
Granada coast just 40km away. Thus, much of the
Mediterranean coast averages around 15C – which is
close to the world average – while the temperature
above 2500m is below freezing.
Temperature ranges of up to 30C occur in Belichte
in Zaragoza and Ordesa in Huesca, caused by altitude
difference.
Annual rainfall varies hugely by as much as 20% from
one year to the next, even as much as 40% in the Mar
Menor in Murcia. The average rainfall in Spain as a whole
ranges from 300mm to 650mm, with Almeria the most
arid region in Europe. The Cabo de Gata, Europe’s only
semi-desert, receives barely 125-150mm of rain a year.
Whether in the plain or not, rainfall tends to be
concentrated in just a few days, and within this
sometimes within a few hours. The absolute record for
one episode is a remarkable 878mm in Xàvia in 1957,
while 119mm fell in one hour on 1 July 2003 in the
village of Manuel in Valencia.
So, to summarise: for a suntan, stick toAndalucia. If
you favour winter woollies, go north to the Pyrenees.
And, if you want to try out your pacamac and wellies,
then come back to Andalucia.
Why? Because one of the wettest villages in Spain
is right here in Andalucia. Grazalema in the Sierra de
Grazalema has an average of 2,153 mm of rain a year,
caused when the warm, humid winds blow in from the
Atlantic and cool and condense as they pass over the
Sierra’s limestone peaks.

Strange Fact: If you were to flatten Spain out you would
end up with an average altitude of 660m!

15

The Rain
In Spain
...stays mainly on the plain,
according to Professor
Higgins. This is not wholly
right, nor wholly wrong...

16

...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

technology news

‘Tractor beam’ is
possible with lasers,
say scientists
A laser can act as a “tractor beam”, drawing small objects
back toward the laser’s source, scientists have said.

It is known that light can provide a “push”, for example in solar
sails that propel spacecraft on a “wind of light”.
Now, in a paper on the Arxiv server, researchers from Hong Kong
and China have calculated the conditions required to create a laserbased “pull”.
Rather than a science fiction-style weapon, however, the
approach would only work over small distances.
The effect is different from that employed in “optical tweezers”
approaches, in which tiny objects can be trapped in the focus
of a laser beam and moved around; this new force, the authors
propose, would be one continuous pull toward the source.
And it relies on directly impinging on an object, making it distinct
from an approach demonstrated in 2010 by Australian researchers
whose trapping worked by heating air around a trapped particle.
The trick is not to use a standard laser beam, but rather one
known as a Bessel beam, that has a precise pattern of peaks and
troughs in its intensity.
Seen straight-on, a Bessel beam would look like the ripples
surrounding a pebble dropped in a pond.
If such a Bessel beam were to encounter an object not head-on
but at a glancing angle, the backward force can be stimulated.
As the atoms or molecules of the target absorb and re-radiate
the incoming light, the fraction re-radiated forward along the beam
direction can interfere and give the object a “push” back toward
the source.
The idea appears to be qualitatively similar to one proposed in
2009 by Washington State University physicist Philip Marston that
uses sound waves to achieve a similar result.
“Light can indeed pull a particle,” the authors wrote, “...and this
may open up new avenues for optical micromanipulation, of which
typical examples include transporting a particle backward over a
long distance and particle sorting.”
Ortwin Hess at Imperial College London called the work - which
has not yet been peer-reviewed - as “fascinating”, saying that it
“takes a radical idea forward”.

Boom in Mills & Boon
electronic book sales

The guilty pleasure that is Mills and Boon
romances is driving sales of electronic ebooks as they allow customers to avoid the
“embarrassment factor” of being seen reading
and buying them!
The British publisher said electronic sales
of the bodice-rippers have more than
doubled over the last year and have now
overtaken actual paper book sales.
While the company refuses to reveal the
total number of downloads sold, official
figures show it must be more than the 3.3
million paperbacks purchased in 2010.
Amazon, the online retailer, added that
the Mills & Boon title “The Temp and the
Tycoon” was one of their most downloaded
romance novels to date.
The sales have been such a success that
Sony has designed a rose-pink version of its
reader, complete with M&B logo, for those
proud to be seen reading the novels.
Mills and Boon, which boasts it sells a book
every four seconds, put the boom down to
their early adoption of the new technology
but industry commentators believe it is
more to do with avoiding embarrassment.
It is the same reason why Mills and Boon’s
more racy cousins, erotic fiction, is seeing a
rise in sales in electronic form.
Philip Stone, charts editor at the Bookseller
magazine, said: “Mills & Boon are probably
the publisher feeling the biggest benefit
from e-books.
“They were the first out of the traps to take
advantage of e-books no doubt because

www.europa-network.com

they realised that one of the
reasons people did not buy
their books was that small
embarrassment factor.
“That
is
completely
eradicated with an ereader.”
Mr Stone said that the
switch
to
electronic
devices was probably why
sales of Mills and Boon
physical paperbacks had
dropped in 2010 by six
per cent to 3.3 million.
At the same time,
electronic sales of erotic
fiction rocketed while
actual paperback sales
fell by 30 per cent.
A spokesman for M&B, which was
founded by Gerald Rudgrove Mills and
Charles Boon in Covent Garden 1908,
played down any embarrassment its readers
experienced.
“We were just the first UK publisher to
take advantage of e-books.”
Amazon, which is also seeing sales of
e-books on the Kindle booming, put the
growth down partly to romance novels.
A spokesman said: “We have seen

significant
demand for romance novels
since we opened the Amazon.co.uk Kindle
Store last year.
“In fact, it was the fourth best selling genre
of book during 2010.
“Bestselling romance titles include a
number from British publishers such as Mills
& Boon whose ‘The Temp and the Tycoon’
is one of the most downloaded Romance
novels to date.”

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

Charity Offers Bridal
Gowns At Bargain Prices

pause for thought

“So how’s your training going?”, friends keep asking me, to
which I tend to reply “Painfully!” The trouble is that there’s
no way of preparing yourself for the dreaded Altitude
Sickness, other than going to live somewhere above 3000
metres, so I’m unable to do much about that. But physical
fitness is another matter and I’m certainly working hard
on that aspect of preparation, power-walking miles on
maximum gradient on a treadmill at Sophia’s in Arboleas
several times per week, as well as continuing regular
walking around the hills above Albox.
So today saw me covering the 21Kms from Mercadona
to the Monastery at Saliente, carrying my heavily weighted
rucksack, in just over four hours. With aching legs and
shoulders, it was with immense relief that I was able to
discard my burden on arrival at Saliente. And as I did so, I
was forcibly reminded of that wonderful story of Bunyan’s
Pilgrim’s Progress, with Christian carrying his burden, not
just for a mere four hours, but throughout his life.
And where my rucksack was filled with a random
selection of items, chosen for weight rather than value on
the walk, so Christian in the story, carried a remarkable
variety of items like guilt, shame and fear, that weighed
him down, utterly useless for the journey on which he had
embarked. He tried a number of options for release, such
as doing good, serving legality, civility and morality, but
when eventually the burden was released at the place of
deliverance, his relief knew no bounds.
A very old story, but still one with considerable meaning,
for how many of us cart around with us burdens like his,
that spoil our enjoyment of life, and struggle though we
may we find ourselves utterly powerless to remove them
ourselves. In those circumstances we, like Christian in the
story, need a deliverer to take the burden from us, and as
a Christian of course I believe, as Bunyan himself did, that
deliverer to be none other than Jesus Christ alone.
There are a number of English Language Churches in the
region for any wishing to Worship; further information about
the Anglican Church in this area may be seen on the web site
www.mojacarchurch.org

Duncan Burr is Licensed Lay Reader for the Anglican
Chaplaincy of Costa Almeria and Costa Cálida and may
be contacted at djburr@avired.com

17

A new charity ‘outlet’ store in Vigo is giving brides-to-be the
opportunity to buy a bridal gown at a bargain price and do
their bit to help a good cause at the same time.
Cáritas Diocesana has set up store in the Galician city with
the aim of raising money for social projects and is offering new
gowns that would normally cost anything up to 3000 euros, at
a knock-down price of between 200 and 400 euros.
They started with a total of 120 gowns for sale, but they
are disappearing fast, with 12 sold in the first three days of
trading.
They were donated by a bridal shop that had to close in
December, but which has opted to remain anonymous.
The 15,000-18,000 euros the charity hopes to raise will go
towards single mothers who receive no financial support from
the fathers of their children.
The philosophy behind the ‘outlet’ store is see that “women
who want to get married in white can do so” and at the same
time “those who have nothing and have to beg to feed their
children” get the support they need, said Ángel Dorrego,
director of Cáritas for the Tui-Vigo area.
The campaign is set to run until March 26th, but will end
sooner if the gowns sell out.
A fashion show featuring many of the gowns on sale gave the
charity initiative some extra publicity on Sunday.

Prince Charles & Camilla to visit Spain

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will make their first
official visit to Spain as a couple towards the end of March,
the leading daily El Pais stated this week.
The British royals planned to stay for about three days,
visiting Madrid and the southern city of Seville, but there
were no exact dates yet, the paper said, without identifying
a source. In London, Charles’ press office declined to
comment on the report.
Charles and his wife would meet with King Juan Carlos
and Queen Sofia, Prince Felipe and his wife Princess Letizia,
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Madrid
Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, the paper said.

18

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES

www.screenmasters.es

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

‘Fantastic value’
offered by Spanish
repossessed
property

Demand for property in Spain may be
set to increase following comments
from one leading property
portal regarding the surplus of
repossessed residential homes now
on the market.
Similar to a number of other
Spanish property companies,
Property-Spanish.com has seen
an increase in the number of
enquiries for real estate in
Murcia - near the proposed
new Paramount Film Studio
Theme Park.
Indeed, the firm explained
that demand in 2011 is already
up over 150 per cent on last
year.
“With the banks keen to clear
their property portfolios, the

Manuel Galindo, president of
the organisation, believes will
positively impact the market.
A Place in the Sun reported
that Mr Galindo said: “More
flats are now being sold then
built.”
Mr Galindo expects Spanish
property sales to increase
further as a result of low prices,
but he added that housing
starts will remain at an historic
low.

nearly 20 per cent.
A recent market report by
Reuters has suggested that he
oversupply in the market will
take around six years to absorb.
It added that the fall in property
values in Spain could accelerate
further as a result of mortgage
lenders’ need to offload the
properties they accumulated in
the previous years.
Reports suggest that there are
over a million unsold properties

19

Tel: 950 109 699 or 661 433 443
admin@buyandsellpropertyinspain.com

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prices on bank repossession
property in Spain offer fantastic
value,” Mike Price, sales director,
said.
Reports suggest that there
are more than a million unsold
properties in Spain currently.
The news follows figures
released by real estate portal
Homesgofast.com
which
revealed that some 37.5 per
cent more searches for property
in Spain took place in January
compared to the previous year.
According to website, interest
in the Balearics and Canary
Islands could be replacing
main land Spain for property
purchases in the coming year.
Reports also suggest that
the current oversupply of
properties on the housing
market will be absorbed with
rising sale transactions and a
drop in supply of property.
This is according to a forecast
made by the association of
Developers and Constructors,
which noted that there are
currently believed to be in
excess of one million unsold
homes on the market.
The firm suggests that this
is a result of the ten-year
construction boom and has
resulted in property prices in
the country falling dramatically
over the past few years.
According to official data,
property sales in the country
increased by 6.8 per cent last
year, something which Jose

There could also be an
increase in the number of
individuals looking for property
in Spain after new figures
revealed that residential prices
in the country fell by five per
cent in January.
Since the market peak in 2007,
the Tinsa real estate price index
shows that the value of homes
in the country have fallen by

in Spain and given the highest
unemployment rate of around
20 per cent and tougher
mortgage lending conditions
this is unlikely to decline soon.
However, recent data from
the country’s National Statistics
Institute has shown that the
Balearic property market is
performing better than the rest
of Spain.

ALBOX FIBREGLASS
We are now in
full production

Manufacturer and supplier to all the
largest hardware outlets in the area.
Yes, most of the fibreglass tanks, etc you see
outside there were manufactured by us

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not the rest!!
Manufacture and full installation of
all sizes of storage tanks
(oil & water), swimming pools and
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House and shed leaking roof repairs.

Creating an ins
Create
a
mini paradise
for insects; a
place that gets
everything
right
for them and that
will look beautiful,
so that you can sit
and watch hoverflies,
butterflies and bees
having the time of
their lives.
But getting a garden
right is a bit more
complicated than planting
a few nectar-rich flowers!

First, choose a site as sheltered as possible. Being blasted
by the wind is not
conducive to easy feeding by light and airy insects, so a walled,
hedged or fenced
weather-protected garden is ideal.
It doesn’t need to be a whole garden. You can make an insect-lovers patch in a corner, in
a few pots on a doorstep or on a window ledge, but shelter is the number one essential.
The sunnier it is the better. Insects are much more active when the sun is out; they go to
ground on cloudy, wet days.

Pick the flowers

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Shelter and warmth

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Bear in mind the obvious – that insects and flowers have a symbiotic relationship.
Flowers attract the insects with nectar. Nectar is the all-important food, rich in
carbohydrate, that is the insect’s reward for visiting the flower; pollen transfer is what
the insect gives back.
For maximum nectar, a good general rule is to avoid double flowers. Double begonias,
busy lizzies and bedding geraniums may look showy, but they’re pretty useless as far as
insects are concerned.
Often the nectaries at the centre of the flower have been transformed into extra
petals, so in these very complex, double flowers the nectar source is often dry. The
extra petals also make it more difficult for insects to gain access to their food, so even
if the nectar is there, they have to shoulder petals aside to feed, making it more likely
they’ll cruise past.

Colour and type
The colour of the flowers is also an important factor, with nectar-rich varieties tending to
be in the blue, pink and purple colour range, with yellow added, too.
Paler flowers are important for the night-feeders, so choose violets, mauves, whites and blues
for most of my new plants, with plenty of highly scented flowers such as Trachelospermum
jasminoides, Nicotiana sylvestris and sweet peas.
Chose a mixture of all types of plants – shrubs, perennials, bulbs, grasses and annuals – to
pad out what’s already there, so there’s a good mix of heights all through the garden.
Different insects like different habitats, so you need a wide variation. Bees love tall, airy

www.watermaid-europe.com

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

den...

sect haven......
things and tend to stick in that middle layer, so plant alliums, Angelica gigas, Cephalaria
gigantea and tall single dahlias such as ‘Bishop of Auckland’, ‘Classic Rosamunda’ and
‘Twinings After Eight’ for them.
However, hoverflies like to stick closer to the ground and prefer to feed on plants like the
annual cerinthe, shorter single-flowered dahlia such as ‘Roxy’, and ground-hugging hardy
geraniums.
Butterflies like large open flowers that give them a secure landing pad, so echinaceas,
rudbeckias, cosmos and sunflowers such as Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’, are ideal for them
and bees.

Varied diet

CM Constructions in Camposol have an excellent reputation and they have been working
in the Mazarron area for the last 11 years. During that time they have been responsible for
some of the highest quality garden makeovers and extensions, underbuild conversions
in Urb Camposol/Mazarron Country Club and the surrounding areas. They work with a
Spanish architect on a daily basis and so can obtain all the neccessary permissions and
liciences for any work that you may require. They employ a highly skilled workforce with
a proven track record in the construction industry and use only quality materials and
products. Mark now says: ‘they are now using a lot of new products available on the market
which can help in reducing/elimating damp problems and painting,which in turn can
help to reduce the costs of maintainence on a property in the long term’ He is also happy
to say that in the current economic crisis in Spain they are still managing to keep busy
as people are now more interested in using a legal well-established business which has
built up a good reputation for quality work to give them peace of mind that their money is
being well spent! If you would like an estimate for any work you may require you can find
their office situated in sector A on Urb camposol opening hours 11am - 1pm daily Mon Fri or alternatively call Mark if he is out on site on 659 159 948 ,Check out ther website on
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or see their advice on wall - Family business established since 1987
problems/construction at - 100’s of satisfied customers
www.simplynetworking.es - Help with all licenses and permits
Constructions
- CM Constructions are legal, fully qualified

There’s new evidence from Dr Simon Potts, principal research fellow at the
Centre for Food Security at Reading University, that insects – like us – need a
varied diet. The traditional cottage garden was perfect for insects, with a huge
number of different plants all crammed in, offering varied nectar sources as well
as shelter and habitat.
Today’s more minimalist gardens, with limited plant species and lots of paving,
gravel and grasses, do not attract so many insects.
Lots of different types of nectar build the bees’ immune systems, and
without the diversity of food, colonies can become weak and vulnerable
to fungal and viral diseases.

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Succession in flowering is also key – aim to have nectar-rich plants in
the garden every month from March to October, when insects are most
active.
It’s worth skewing flowering times in favour of late summer and
early autumn, when there is less in the wild for insects and arable
crops such as oil seed rape have been harvested.
Late-winter flowers are a life-saver for insects woken up prematurely
by unusually warm days, so crocus and a daphne or winter-flowering
viburnum are good things to plant.
In Paul Hervey-Brookes’s nectar-rich garden at Chelsea last
year he showed good combinations for succession, with
hardy geraniums planted with veronicas. The geraniums
flower early in the summer, but then go over and can look
quite untidy. As the geraniums finish, the veronica
pushes out all its foliage and covers the geranium
as it dies.

Don’t forget that insects need water.
Steve Head from the Wildlife Gardening
Forum states, “Bees use several litres of
water a day on a hot day to keep their
hive cool and it takes 40,000 trips by a bee
editor@
to get a litre of water. So put out a container
which is very shallow at the edges and you’ll
soltimes.com
do the pollinators a huge service,”
he says.
The Wildlife Gardening Forum
is a small charity working to
Unbeatable prices, subject to availability
help people understand the
importance of gardens for people
The longest established Spa specialist in this part of Spain
and biodiversity. Email wlgf@
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stephenmhead.com for more
All Spas are CE certified
information.

There could not be a greater
opportunity to purchase a well
appointed 3-bed / 2-bath Villa
right on the edge of the golf course
in Marina de la Torre, Mojacar Playa within a 1 minute walk
to the sea.
The Villa has a built area of 189,50mts² distributed between
a large basement area that houses an independent annex
with its own kitchen and bathroom, plenty of living and
storage area and a separate massive lock up garage and
store room; ground floor with an entrance hallway, a large
dining room, a sitting / living room with a wood burner; a
large open plan kitchen, a double bedroom, a bathroom and
stairwell leading to the upper and lower levels; and 1st floor
with 2 double bedrooms, a hallway and a family bathroom.
The Villa also has massive terraces totaling 44.05mts² on
the lower and upper level facing the golf course - the upper
terrace also has great sea views. The Villa also benefits
from an additional 225.10mts² of land which surrounds the
property – this has been completely terraced by the existing
owners.
The property benefits from air conditioning (hot and cold),
double glazed windows throughout and all the terraces have
retractable awnings.
This Villa really is an ideal full time residence or a very
special holiday home for those looking for something special,
especially for the golf enthusiast.

Priced to sell!

positipa

proper ty group S.L.

The resort where it is located has a private outdoor
swimming pool and a year round gymnasium. At this
reduced priced of 375K euros this property is likely to sell
very quickly so an early viewing is highly recommended to
avoid disappointment. It is a 2 minute drive to Garrucha and
5 minute drive to either the main shopping center in Mojácar
Playa or Mojácar Village up in the hill. There are also several
other golf courses nearby - Cortijo Grande, Valle del Este and
Playa Macenas are all within 10 minutes drive, and Desert
Springs is within 20 minutes drive. The Airport of Almeria is
within no more than 45 minutes drive. For more information
please visit our office or contact us by phone or e-mail. The
property reference is 1479.

(0034) 950 617 611

info@positivapropertygroup.com www.positivapropertygroup.com

€299.995

La Judea Arboleas (ARB464)

Los Gallardos (LG155)

El Chopo Arboleas (ARB050)

Large Detached Villa located in El Chopo, with an
PROPERTY OF THE WEEK!!
INCREDIBLE LOCATION, INCREDIBLE VIEWS, complete
A Large Family Villa located just outside Los Gallardos, with extensive well distributed plot, and private swimming pool.
with a totally private pool and terrace area.
The Villa Comprises of 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms,
extensive living space, 4 Bedrooms and 3 Bathrooms. The
An extremely well distributed large 3 bed 2 bath Villa,
and would be an ideal family home.
Villa is also situated upon 10.000mts Plot complete with
with impeccable presentation.
totally
private
swimming
pool
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terrace
areas.
This
is
an
€169.693
€199.950
incredible investment in this location at this price.

6 bed / 6 bath luxury Villa. Plot 3.348
mts². Gardens, Pool and so on. Must be
seen to be appreciated. Ref 1296

Please visit our office or refer to our website for more “bargains”. Vendors: If you are seriously
considering selling your property please visit our office to discuss effective ways of achieving your goal.
As per decree 218/2005 the “Documento de Información Abreviada” (D.I.A) for any property sold
by Veritas Homes is available at our office.

23

24

...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

OPEN
for business

TO ADVERTISE HERE CALL 950 430 820 OR
EMAIL: SALES@SOLTIMES.COM
“Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a
certain amount of scratching around for what it gets.” Henry Ford
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viewpoint

THIS IS EARTH SIGNING OFF

I’m finding it difficult to sleep
at nights of late. I recently
read yet another article about
that Mayan prediction, you
know, the one about the
world coming to an abrupt
end on December 21st 2012,
and it’s getting too damned
close for comfort.
Scientists agree that the
Mayans advanced level of
knowledge in astronomy
was, umm, well, astronomical,
and having taken years to
painstakingly
carve
out
their thoughts in stone with
their mallets and chisels, it
would seem a good idea to
take them seriously. Except
– and here’s the conundrum
– that they never realised the
practical use of the wheel. I
mean, can you believe anyone
who predicts the end of the
world, but who didn’t even
have the nouse to develop
wheel based transport?
They were a strange lot the
Mayans. It would appear that
as a body, they simply upped
and left their great cities
one Wednesday morning. A
note was left on the door
of a stepped pyramid saying
‘Gone to Lunch’, and they
simply never came back, and
although there are traces of
them still in Central America
and Wolverhampton, to all
intents and purposes their
great civilisation disappeared.
And it was obviously on foot,
because rumour has it that a

massive fleet of wagons was
found intact in the temple car
park, propped up on bricks
just waiting for someone to
stop star gazing and invent
something circular to go in
each corner.
But it’s not only what
the
Mayans
prophesied
that worries me, because
apparently ancient smart
arses from other extinct
civilisations have made the
same prediction of impending
doom. The same civilisations
in fact who wrote about a
great deluge that covered the
earth in pre-historic times,
eerily similar to our own
Biblical account of The Flood
and Noah Marine Ltd.
So clearly something is going
on here that we should know
about.
If it is a fact that there was
some sort of great and very
damp upheaval millennia ago
– and it is generally accepted
that there was – then what’s to
say that it won’t happen again.
But from where, and what will
trigger this catastrophe?
Today’s astronomers have
the means to spot the
approach of an asteroid
or comet well in advance.
We have powerful radio
telescopes constantly trained
on the heavens, we have
Hubble and we have Patrick
Moore. So the possibility of
some celestial Brazilian striker
ghosting in on the blind

EVOLUTION...

My body has not been keeping its side
of the bargain recently, and I am not best
pleased with it.
For these past many years I have fed it,
watered it and clothed it. I have been patient
with its many inadequacies, like its inability
to run faster than a speeding bullet or leap
tall buildings. I very seldom grumble at its
insistence on 8 hours of sleep every night,
even though I regard so much sleep as a
waste of time and a sheer self indulgence.
I am more than tolerant with its less than
goddess-like appearance, in fact I even buy
it all sorts of cunningly designed clothes
to disguise its faults, not to mention the
quantities of creams and coloured potions
in the form of make-up that I have to apply
regularly to the pieces that stick out beyond
the covering grace of jeans and jumpers.
Due to the unsatisfactory state of my
relationship with my body at the moment I

side and scoring a cosmic
screamer is highly unlikely and
even if there were, apart from
shouting rude words at it and
waving a stick, there is very
little we could do to stop it
in its tracks with our present
level of technology, whatever
Hollywood and Bruce Willis
say.
The really worrying part is the
exactness of the date given by
our pals the Mayans. What
sort of worldwide disaster
could occur that instantly?
The scientific world has
been perplexed for years
over the discovery of the near
perfect remains of numerous
mammoth carcasses preserved
in the Siberian permafrost,
and as a result quite a lot
has been learned about the
last ice age, and it is chilling.
Remains of other species have
also been discovered, and get
this: they were species that
could not have lived in the
harsh conditions that prevail
in that region today. To add
to the mystery, herbs and
grasses found in the mouths
and stomachs of some
of these animals are only
found in temperate regions.
Conclusion: Instant climate
change. Result: Birds Eye
frozen mammoth.
It is obvious then, that
something happened that
brought a major change to
the Earth’s climate in the blink
of an eye – or more to the

have been giving a lot of thought
to how bodies could be improved
to prevent future generations
encountering the same sad state.
I believe that the next evolutionary step
should be built in technology.
I would be only too pleased to have a Cut
and Paste facility installed – think how much
time and diesel the world and I would save,
going from place to place electronically!
Or perhaps I could e-mail myself to
Mercadona, returning via the Reply button
with the shopping as an attachment. This
would also save me the embarrassment
of constantly forgetting to take my recently
purchased 60 cent bag with me!
But my favourite at the moment would be
a Clipboard facility. I could then put myself
on the clipboard, ready to rejoin the human
race when I felt like it, thus sidestepping
all the unpleasant bits of life, such as
housework!
Until this update becomes available I did
wonder if I could go through the Complaints

colinbadbird@hotmail.com

By Jos Biggs

josbiggs@hotmail.co.uk

By Chris Marshall
SLOW DOWN, SWITCH OFF
110kph? Zapatero has stated several
times that it is a temporary measure,
but not many seem to believe him.
Alonso, Spain’s two-time Formula
One world champion, has been widely
reported as slating the decision saying
that it will be “difficult to stay awake”
when driving at 110 kph, which is 68
mph by the way, just 2 mph below the
speed limit in the UK!
Of course if this was the UK the
‘political correctness’ brigade would be
slamming Alonso for such a statement,
and after all it is a pretty dumb thing to
have said, but here in Spain he is being

By Colin Bird

Procedure, register my dissatisfaction
officially, and obtain replacement parts.
Then I realised that: I had no receipt
to prove purchase, and no matter how
diligently I searched, I was unlikely to find
one. Plus I had no guarantee, and I had the
sneaking feeling that, even if I had one, it
would be out of date by now.
In any case, would it be internationally
recognised? Would an English guarantee
be valid in Spain?
This guarantee could prove to be the
ultimate sticking point. I am sure geeks
and scientists in the future will be able to
genetically implant technology in any and all
who request it, but who is going to assume
responsibility for the guarantee, should a
fault arise?
Answers please...

Views From A Balcony In Spain

I have been trying to figure out why
so many people have a problem with
a reduction in the speed limit from 120
kph to 110 kph to be imposed on March
7th in response to the escalating costs
of petrol due to the events in Libya.
Sure it may be a little inconvenient for
some, but to be honest my first reaction
when I read about was: makes sense,
can’t do any harm, and good on the
government for being proactive.
Let’s face it, I suspect the vast
majority of complainants are unlikely to
have adhered to the 120 kph in the first
place! I just can’t see how someone
would have ‘stuck’ to 120kph but not

point, in the middle of lunch,
and the only event that could
have brought all this about
was the changing of the
planet’s polarity.
It doesn’t help to learn that
this has happened at regular
intervals throughout time,
and should the melting of
the ice caps continue at their
present rate, there is a very
real danger of a large chunk
of Antarctica breaking away
and drifting north, causing
the Earth to literally tip over
and create a similar cataclysm.
The resultant tidal waves;
earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions would devastate
the planet on an unimaginable
scale, wiping out all but small
isolated pockets of life. No
more Eastenders, KFC or Katie
Price, so it’s not all bad news.
Just imagine the puzzlement
on the faces of scientists
in some post apocalyptic
future world, when they find
the remains of a Big Mac and
medium fries in the stomach
of a petrified cross dresser
from Romford.
Bearing in mind that small
pockets of humans could
survive the calamity, I know
where I will be on 21st
December 2012. Felixstowe.
Nothing
ever
happens
there.

applauded as you can imagine.
Of course not everyone is going
to ‘suffer’ as EcoCd Signalling, an
Alicante-based company founded by
three unemployed people in 2009 that
specialises in road signs, has already
received a vast number of orders for the
new 110Km/hr speed limit signs. The
main success of the EcoCd company
has been the creation and marketing
of a type of magnetic laminated large
disc that fits precisely over the speed
limit signs, and is far easier to use than
a 110 sign with adhesive. In addition,
these magnetic signs can resist winds
of up to 160Km/hr, support extreme

temperatures, and once removed the
original sign remains clean. What a
clever idea!
On the other hand three energy
saving measures just seemed daft to
me: alternating which days you could
drive into cities by number plate (evens
one day, odds the next) simply can’t
have been thought through, not least
because of the cost of policing it, and
the suggestion to turn off a percentage
of the street lights was just insane:
a sure fire way to see an increase
in both crime and traffic accidents I
suggest. On this one at least common
sense has prevailed and the street
lights are now to be exchanged for
low consumption ones, when they get
them in stock that is, although this is
going to cost 4€ million give or take!

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

25

oh, by the way....

Last week I was presented with a list to sign against the new
anti-tobacco law. Needless to say I signed the list!
Much has been said and written about the new law – pros as
well as cons. Before you read on, let it be known that from the
very beginning I was against the new law, but 100% in favour
of the previous law.
Well, before the current anti-tobacco law came into force, we
had to rely on non-smokers’ claims that they did not have the
same freedom of choice as us smokers, using the argument that
the majority of the bars and restaurants had chosen to allow
smoking. This argument led us all to believe that making all
establishments non-smoking areas, there would be an influx of
costumers, who previously could – or would - not frequent the
bars and restaurants. Though the professionals of the restaurant
business claimed the new law would be detrimental to their
business, the lack of solid proof of either claim left it impossible
to determine the impact the new law would have.
We are now in mid-March, and have lived with the new law
for 2 ½ months. During these months, the news has been filled
with restaurateurs’ complaints about lack of customers. During
this relatively short time we have unfortunately also seen many
bars and restaurants closing. With the region’s above average
unemployment rate, this represents a very serious problem.
Not to blame the non-smokers, but where the Hell are you?
You were supposed to fill the establishments in the absence
of the smokers. Together with those of the smokers, who are
willing to go outside to smoke, you were supposed to be the
backbone of keeping the restaurant business afloat.
I do not think one could find a better argument to support my
opinion than my observations, when my husband and I went
for a drink and a tapa in Cartagena the other day. We chose at
random a tapa bar close to where we had been shopping. We
were about 20 minutes ahead of the midday rush, so all bars
were more-or-less empty leaving us with an absolute freedom
of choice. The chosen bar had tables inside and tables outside
under cover – all tables sporting ashtrays (and the waitress
smoking while cleaning the tables), though it was covered
on three sides (the law says that smoking is only allowed
when only two sides as covered). Anyway, we sat down – and
discovered that the food was delicious and, when the time for
payment arrived, also discovered that the prices were very
reasonable.
Having enjoyed our tapa and drink, finishing with a cup of
coffee, other customers started to arrive. Soon five of the six
tables outside were occupied, while only one table inside had
a customer. Four people arrived, looking for a table, but the
remaining table was only big enough for two persons. The
waitress offered them a table inside, but the party declined the
offer.
One does not need to be Einstein to figure out, why they
wanted to sit ‘outside’. They must have been smokers.
The restaurant lost four customers whom they could have
accommodated, had smoking been allowed inside. Okay,
supposedly another restaurant further on, with an empty table
for four, got the business. But what about the next party of four
on the look-out for a table for smokers? Did they find a table?
Or did they go home with an empty belly and left the bar with
an empty till?
But hey-hoe! The great news is that we will die as very healthy
paupers, if we continue down this lane!
Biggy Marshall is educated within law and administration and has been
writing most of her life. She has been published in the Danish press as well as in
local English publications. She has lived in Spain for nearly 20 years, the last 14
years in Murcia. Biggy can be contacted on lbtmarshall@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this column are the opinions of the columnist and
not the opinions of Sol Times Newspaper Group. The newspaper takes no responsibility for
the content or the opinions of columnist.

And the third suggestion? We all rush
out to buy new tyres to improve our
fuel consumption.
On the subject of ‘madness’ I see
that the European Court of Justice
has ruled that insurers should not treat
gender as a risk factor when assessing
premiums. What this means, for
example, is that a 17 year old boy
and a 17 year old girl must be treated
the same when it comes to the cost
of insuring their car. Now the phrase
‘boy racer’ wasn’t just conjured up out
of thin air, it comes from the statistical
evidence that proves that young males
are more likely to smash their cars
up. This is something I know about,
as many moons ago I worked for an
insurance company and sat through
far too many meetings with Actuaries

(the people who in effect weigh up the
risk based on tons of statistical stuff)
as we set the premiums.
Now I am the first to accuse the
insurance companies of double
standards in many ways: they after all
are in the risk business yet over the
years they have seemed to try and
capture the least risk customers and
avoid the high risk, and that seems
wrong to me but imposing blanket
rules like this just seems wrong to me.
Yet more good headlines for the
tourist industry here in Spain, as
reports say that Spain remains the
number one destination in Europe,
and that the British are still heading
the league table of nations taking their
holidays in Spain.

Chris Marshall is a professional blogger and freelance broadcaster and writer who lives
in Almerimar, Spain with his wife Sands, four cats, two Harley Davidson’s and more often
than not a bottle of red to hand!
His weekly column in The Sol Times is sponsored by Bay Connect (www.bay-connect.com.
You can hear him daily on www.bayradio.fm and read him monthly in the Daily Telegraph.

Sudoku is a placement puzzle. Enter the numbers 1 to 9 in
each row and column of a grid, made up of 3 x 3 subgrids.
The catch is that each row, column and grid must contain
only one instance of each number or letter.

coffee break

Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask.
Act! Action will delineate and define you.

STANDARD
SUDOKU

26

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

be an environmentally
friendly gardener

UK Motorists face
threat of £120
for letting their
engines idle

The Prince of
Wales has called
on gardeners to
‘be the change you
want to see ‘by
going green. But
how do you make
your garden more
environmentally
friendly?

Motorists could be fined up to £120 for
leaving their car engines idling, under
plans drawn up by Boris Johnson

London’s mayor wants to
increase the current £20
penalty and bring it into
line with fines imposed for
parking offences.
If his plans are adopted, it
would see motorists in the
capital being fined £120 and
outside London the charge
would be increased to £70.
Higher penalties would hit
an array of road users from
delivery drivers and taxis to
mothers waiting to pick up
their children from school.
Mr Johnson has written
to Philip Hammond, the
Transport Secretary, urging
him to toughen the law.
Motorists who leave their
cars idling “unnecessarily”
while parked can be fined
under powers given to local
authorities in 2002.
But according to Mr
Johnson’s new air quality
strategy, the law is too
weak to tackle the noise
and pollution caused by
motorists who leave their
engine idling. It also said the
current £20 penalty charge
is “too low to be a powerful

disincentive.”
However a spokesman
for the AA disagreed with
Mr Johnson. “Persistent
offenders should be prime
targets and perhaps it would
make sense to keep the £20
penalty and allow escalation
to a higher level for those
who regularly don’t comply.
“We also need to make
sure there are safeguards
for those who perhaps have
to leave vehicles idling or
where a mistake may have
been made.”
Since taking office Philip
Hammond, the Transport
Secretary, has promised
to “end the war on the
motorist”.
His spokesman gave a cool
response to Mr Johnson’s
plea.
“For us to consider a case
for increasing the penalty,
we need to see clear
evidence of the level of non
compliance.
“If there proves to be an
issue with non compliance,
we will be happy to
work with the Mayor on
considering his proposal.”

27

Go organic – Cutting out
chemicals and using manure
and crop rotation instead is
thought to be better for the
health of the organisms in
the soil and wildlife.
Make compost - Using
compost not only cuts the
needs for chemicals but
recycles food waste.
Grow your own - Fruit and
vegetables grown in your
own garden reduce the
need for bringing in food
from abroad, therefore
cutting carbon emissions.
Grow ‘bee-friendly’ plants
– Planting wild flower
and species like poppies,
lavender and sunflowers
can help bees and other
insects to have a varied diet
of nectar.
Leave wild places – Wood

piles can provide a home
for hedgehogs and beetles
while nettle patches help
many species of butterfly.
Encourage birds – Bird
feeders can help garden
species like sparrows and
robins, as well as helping
pest control as the predators
eat insects.
Harvest rainwater – A butt
to collect water both from
the rain and grey water from
bathrooms and kitchens
helps to cut use of water
and therefore energy.
Be more energy efficient
– Heating greenhouses and
cutting the grass can be
done using less energy by
using modern equipment or
even renewable energy.

If you want your car serviced by our
professional staff who leave nothing to
chance (as I can testify) to a very high
standard at a competitive cost then give us a
try. We currently have many special offers on
servicing, tyres, diagnostics, etc.
And of course our unique monthly payment
plan.
We are now just starting our sixth year on
the same site to which our regular customers
can testify.
So come and see us with your vehicle
requirements and be met with our friendly
efficient staff.

tyre centre

Fact: Second hand tyres are illegal in
Spain because there in no legal
warranty.
Fact: Remould tyres are also illegal as
the original casing date has been
removed by the remoulder, the treads
might be new but the tyre itself is not
- and this is the part that blows out.
Fact: T
here is no manufacturer warranty
on Chinese tyres.

We have offers in conjunction
with our main suppliers on
genuine, legal tyres.
Call for details.

service plan

Special offer

for new customers
Sign up to our service plan, have
your timing belt changed with no
labour costs - you only pay for the
parts.
Discounted labour rate by 20% on
repairs to service plan customers
cars.
Fixed price 2 year servicing plan!
Easy monthly payments from 12.50€
that’s less than 45c a day!

Mojacar Showroom and rental office

stop press

To include:

1 x ‘A’ Service

(oil + filter, full vehicle check)

1 x ‘B’ Service

(as above + air and fuel filters)

1 x ITV (Spanish ITV)

2 x 6 month vehicle inspections
All paid for over a 2 year period
by standing order from as little
as 12.50€ per month

Interest Free !
(conditions apply)

459 Paseo de Mediterraneo, Mojacar Playa

Tel: 950 069 272

check out our website and book online
hire cars now available from
almeria, alicante & murcia airports www.costacochesrentacar.biz

Cars now available at
plane parking Murcia Airport

Car hire rates from 1st October 2010 through to March 2011.
Prices are the same at all depots
eg. Mojacar, Antas & Murcia Airport.
(Phone main office for Airport bookings)
Don’t forget our budget cars available at only 15
per day
Now available excess waiver
from 2€ per day

AA PArking @ Almeria Airport, and
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It was the wine of choice for the
appalling, cheesy, TV chat show
host Alan Partridge. However, it
survived all the put-downs and
even won the approval of style
icon Victoria Beckham, who
might be assumed to prefer
Cristal champagne.
After a number of reinventions,
the original version of the semisweet German creation in
the blue bottle with a nun on
the label is being relaunched
as an ‘unpretentious’ and
‘contemporary’ wine.
The taste has been devised
to suit British women aged
25-45,
although
German

owner Langguth plans to sell
it worldwide. The move is part
of a wider effort to build a
new interest in German wine,
which has suffered a disastrous
slump since Blue Nun and
Black Tower were the height of
sophistication.
Blue Nun introduced millions
of Britons to the intimidating
world of wine. Billed as a wine
that could be drunk throughout
a meal, it solved the dinner party
problem of not knowing what
to serve with a particular food.
Surprisingly, the brand can trace
its roots back to 1921, while
it became the biggest selling

Meson

de

wine in the world between
the 1950s and 1980s. Originally
a Liebfraumilch and later a
blended wine, it has become
less sweet over the years.
The new version, in the
shops next month, uses the
Rivaner grape, a cross between
Riesling and Gutedel. Wines are
generally light with a flowery
bouquet and less acidity than
Riesling.
The taste of the latest version
has been devised particularly
to suit British women, however
the plan is to sell it around the
world.
Blue Nun is owned by the

German company Langguth,
whose
winemaker,
Heinz
Blümling, worked with British
importer, Bottle Green, to
develop the new taste and
image. A spokesman for the firm
said: ‘In addition to the Original
being re-crafted, the brand will
also re-launch with a range of
German varietal wines such as
Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and
Pinot Noir.
‘As well as improved wines,
the packaging has been given a
major overhaul. The iconic Nun
remains but is set within a bold,
contemporary re-stylisation.’

Irene

merald Isle
E
e
Th
IRISH PUB
Mojacar Playa, nr La Hacienda

OPEN TODAY

PolIgono Industrial Albox, Near the ITV Garage

Homemade
Andalucian Cooking

weekly

Menu del Dia

Everyday we have a large
selection of stew, lamb, pork,
chickpeas, chicken
and fish soups.

Saturday 12th
march - disco &
karaoke night with
steve king from 9pm
every sunday from
8pm ‘Fun quiz’, irish
bingo & play your
cards right with
ian - followed by a
disco!
every wednesday
live music with sean
grew from 9pm
Open: Mon - Fri 5pm - late,
Sat & Sun 2pm - late

It was the height of sophistication...or a
byword for tackiness. Blue Nun was the
world’s top-selling wine between the 1950s
and 1980s, but became the butt of jokes
and fell out of fashion.

mojacar playa

SERVED 1.30PM — 5PM
BOOKING RECOMMENDED

25€

THURSDAY
17TH MARCH

ST.PATRICKS DAY
Steak & Guinness Stew

only €3

with Irish Music

OPENING TIMES: THURS & MON 6 - 10 pm
Fri & Sat 1 - 10 pm Sun 1 - 5 pm

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

29

...food & DRINK
a stark double warning:

Food and fuel bills to rocket

A catastrophic 1970s-style oil price spike is on the cards
while the price of supermarket basics continues to soar
Vince Cable said the twin threat puts the economic
recovery at risk and piles pressure on struggling
households. Meanwhile, new figures released
reveal that fuel duty is the UK’s most unpopular
tax, with research suggesting that one in five
people say they would like to see it abolished. The
figures, published on professional advice website
unbiased.co.uk, revealed that as petrol prices soar,
fuel duty was the tax most Britons wanted George
Osborne to slash in this year’s budget.
Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.
co.uk, said: “While everyone
knows paying taxes is a fact of
life, it appears consumers are
becoming increasingly irritated by
hefty fuel prices, resulting in fuel
duty making the top slot for taxes
they want to abolish the most. In
reality we all know that getting
rid of fuel duty is very unlikely to
ever happen, but there are other
things we can do to make a real
impact on the amount of tax we
are liable to pay.”
Commenting on the rising
fuel and food costs, Business
Secretary Vince Cable said: “We
now have the prospect of a fullyfledged energy and commodity
price shock squeezing real wages
and pushing up inflation.”
Chris Huhne, his Lib Dem
colleague and Energy Secretary,
said the political turmoil in the
Arab world could send oil prices
skywards.
Higher fuel costs hit food
producers, pushing up the
prices paid by consumers.
That would add to inflationary
pressure and increase the prospect of interest
rate rises. Economists also fear that food price
hikes will reduce economic activity and squeeze
household spending as families desperately cut
back elsewhere.
A UN report revealed that rises in bread, pasta,
breakfast cereal, dairy and meat prices are on the
horizon – irrespective of future oil price hikes.
The commodity price of key foods rose again in
February, making it the eighth successive month of
increases, according to the UN Food & Agriculture
Organisation. It pointed out that the export prices
of wheat, corn and rice are up by a staggering 70
per cent in one year.
British bakers expect a standard loaf to cost 10p
to 15p more within weeks. Higher grain prices also
lead to more expensive meat and dairy products
in the shops because of their heavy use in animal
feed. Gary Sharkey of Hovis said: “Bakers cannot
possibly absorb the latest round of increases. Flour
costs have risen yet again, and there have been big
increases in energy costs, a major factor in baking,
plus significant rises in oil prices affecting daily
distribution costs.”
Global commodity prices are running at their
highest level since 2008, when food riots rocked

many poor states.
A report by investment bank UBS earlier this week
said UK supermarkets and manufacturers had taken
advantage of the global situation to push up prices
by more than was justified. It found that British
prices were rising at an annual rate of 4.9 per cent,
compared with 3.6 per cent in Germany and 1.8
per cent across the euro zone. The United States
had a 1.5 per cent rise. The report said commodity
inflation would justify a 3 to 3.5 per cent rise in
processed food prices, but UK supermarkets have

FOR THE KIDS: AMERICAN STYLE HOT DOG & CHIPS
1 GAME OF BOWLING & SHOE HIRE

lifted prices by 6 to 6.5 per cent. Extreme weather,
ranging from droughts in Russia to floods in China
and Australia, has particularly hit global wheat
production. The UN report said: “We expect a
tightening of the global cereal supply and demand
balance in 2010/11. In the face of a growing
demand and a decline in world cereal production
in 2010, global cereal stocks this year are expected
to fall sharply because of a decline in inventories
of wheat and coarse grains. International cereal
prices have increased sharply with export prices of
major grains up at least 70 percent from February
last year.”
The FAO’s David Hallam said: ‘Unexpected oil
price spikes could further exacerbate an already
precarious situation in food markets. This adds even
more uncertainty concerning the price outlook just
as plantings for crops in some of the major growing
regions are about to start.’
In a speech to City businessmen and bankers last
night, Mr Cable said Britain was still facing a ‘difficult’
recovery.
‘There is no Delia Smith cookery book providing
a simple recipe for producing growth, let alone in
the abnormal post-crisis environment which we
inhabit,’ he added.

Policía Local from Fuente
Álamo intercepts a bag of
marihuana..........................
Last Wednesday an anonymous call
alerted the Policía Local in Fuente
Álamo that a vehicle, moving in
the direction of Cuevas de Reyllo,
was carrying a bag full of drugs.
Immediately a patrol car from Fuente
Álamo was dispatched and managed
to locate the car with four people
inside.
During the pursuit, which continued
in to the neighbouring Torre Pacheco
municipality, the occupants of the
vehicle attempted to lose the police
by throwing paper and plastic bags
out of the window. Finally, taking
the chase on to a dirt track, they
had to abandon the car to continue
the flight on foot. This move made it
possible for the Fuente Álamo police
to detain a Moroccan woman, while
the other three occupants of the car
managed to escape.
New home for the
Phoenician Boat ................
A team of technicians from the Town
Hall and private companies have
studied ‘The viability of Mazarrón’s
Phoenician Boat’ as preserving the
boat and find a better alternative as a
tourist attraction is important for the
Mazarrón municipality.
The result of the studies is that it is
suitable to retrieve the submerged
Phoenician Boat and conserve it in
wet conditions, in accordance with
the indication in the declaration by

To advertise on
this page
call justine on
693 775 337 or
email:
sales@
soltimes.com

UNEXCO on Subaquatic Heritage.
Professor in Subaquatic Archeology,
Manuel Martín Bueno, assured that
this project stands out due to its
cultural magnitude, its uniqueness,
and its high need for resources.
The Phoenician Boat will be placed
in a big fish tank with the same
environmental conditions as it
is in now, as there will be direct
connection to the beach at La Isla,
where the ‘Centre for Interpretation
of the Phoenician Boat’ situated.
The boat will be in a 530 square
meters museum, distributed over two
floors. The ground floor will be home
for the boat with part of it exposed,
and the upper floor will house a
conference room with audiovisual
equipment.
Disability passes................
The Town Council has given green light
to a suggestion of issuing disability
passes for the disabled inhabitants
of the municipality. Applications
must be directed to the ‘Concejalía
de Política Social’ offices in Mazarrón
and the port.
‘Universidad
Popular’
is convening the ‘XXI
EDICIÓN DE LOS CONCURSOS
Y PREMIOS MAZARRÓN A DÍA
A DÍA.......................................
The ‘Universidad Popular’ in Mazarron
is inviting all inhabitants, from the
youngest to the elders to participate
in the ‘XXI Edition of the Competitions
and Awards Mazarrón Day-to-Day’. The
categories are Poetry, Tales, Essays,

Le
Bistro
Puerto De Mazarron
All Day
Saturday

Buffet Breakfast

All Food
Homemade

Behind the pharmacy
Next to the Medical Centre
Tel: 603 135 387

Photography, Comics, Drawings, and
Painting. The deadline for submitting
original works is April 1st.
Further information about this
competition can be obtained at
Universidad Popular de Mazarrón,
Avenida Constitución 65, or per
telephone 968 591 766.
Fuente Álamo starts a
pioneering
exercising
programme for diabetics
In collaboration with SODICAR
(Association of Diabetics in Cartagena
and region) the Sports Department,
Fuente Álamo’s Services for Sports
Medicine, and the Health Care
Centre have initiated a pioneering
project aiming at improving the life of
sufferers of Mellitus Diabetics, type 2.
The group of professionals have
designed a 7 months programme
of exercises that should improve
the life expectancy of the people
who participate and at the same
time bring the consumption of
medications down. The programme
consists of three hours aerobic
exercises per week, distributed over
three sessions of one hour each
(Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays)
and adapted to the needs of each
patient.
Around 45 people are currently
benefitting from this exercise
programme, which will be extended
to June. The sessions take place in
the facilities within the municipality’s
Indoor Swimming Pool.

WellSpring Victory
Church Bolnuevo
A place to find
Friendship,
Fellowship
And Faith

You are most welcome
Each Sunday at 11am
Tel: 607 382 033 for details
www.wellspringvictorychurch.com

What began as a bit of banter between
two members of the Sierra Golf Society in
Balsicas, ended up as a fundraising event of
MABS Murcia/Mar Menor. The joint owner
of the Lakeview Bar & Restaurant, Alan
Currell (who happens to be receding at the
front and normally has his head shaved),
was challenged by Roger Bowen, who is
Vice Captain of the Sierra Golf Society, to
grow his hair so that everyone could see
what he looked like with a ‘comb-over’.
Alan’s quick retort was that he would do
this if Roger had all his hair shaved off.
When Roger started having second
thoughts, Dave Higgins (SGS’s Competitions
Secretary) stepped in and volunteered
to have his head shaved,
alongside him, but only if it
was for a good cause. SGS
members quickly decided to
raise funds for MABS Cancer
Support Group in the Murcia
region and they set off to
obtain sponsorship for the
event and the residents of
the Sierra Golf development
came up trumps, together
with members of the Sands
Bar Golf Society, of which
Roger is a member. “Cancer
is something that we have all had a brush
with at some time in our lives, personally or
through friends or family,” said Dave “and
we
know
what good
work MABS
does
in
Murcia and in
all the Costas,
so the choice
was easy”.
On
the
fateful day, it
must have felt
somewhat
like ‘pistols

at
dawn’
as
Dave
and
Roger
arrived
to
bravely face
the barber’s
chair. Alan
obliged by
taking
off
Roger’s hair
with a set
of clippers,
especially
sharpened for the occasion; he cringed as
each treasured lock fell to the ground. Dave
Higgins was next in to face the chair and
Tony Brown (SGS Secretary)
stepped in to act as the
‘Barber of Sierra’.
But their bravery was
rewarded by raising the
great sum of 250€ for MABS
and a race night fundraiser
planned at the Lakeview
Bar soon afterwards which
raised a further 211€.
Everyone is looking forward
to two months time when
Alan from the Lakeview
will have grown his ‘comb-over’ hairstyle
– watch this space for the photos!
“It is amazing how what started out to
be a joke has turned into something that
will benefit the people that we help in
the Murcia region” commented Lyn Baines,
MABS Director “I’m looking forward to
seeing Alan’s comb-over too!”
MABS Murcia/Mar Menor helps all people in
the Murcia/Mar Menor area who are affected
by cancer, providing drivers, translators,
information leaflets, equipment, a listening
ear, or a shoulder to lean on. If you want to
volunteer, donate or you need help, you
can contact MABS on 693 275 779 or visit
their website: www.mabsmurcia.com

Happy 14th
Birthday

Ellie

Love from
Mum, Dad, Finley
and all the family
XXXXX
To the Best Mum
in the World !

Oven Cleaning Service
3 years customer database includes
van / training / cleaning materials
Profitable magazine business for sale in the Alicante area.
&customer database
Over 70 full colour pages produced monthly for the last six
call Mark 655 027 808
years.Tel: 690 222 273

No 17 Calle Los
Arcos, Ciudad
Quesada, Rojales
Tel: 634 043 060

kennels
BENSON ’ S
– British owned
and run Boarding
Kennels. Tranquil
country
retreat
exclusively
for
dogs.
Highly
recommended by
3 local vets. Large
bedrooms
and
individual runs. 2
Exercise gardens.
Pets
NEVER
mixed. Established
over 8 years. 10
Minutes
from
Murcia airport. By
appointment only
Contact Kim on
616 706 591

Do you have a home abroad or in the
UK & would like to have a secure, luxury
holiday home in England. We are open
11 months of the year & can supply most
makes of Luxury Caravans & Lodges.
Woodcarr Park is in the small
Lincolnshire village of Belton. We
are just 20mins from Humberside &
Doncaster airports. Barry or Jean
Williams
Tel: 0044 1427 873 487
Mobile: 0044 7939 114 123 or
Email: barry.williams08@btconnect.com

We look after your pets as
if they belong to us.
Call Joe for a chat on
966 074 189 or 650 341 087
Email: pawspettransport
@hotmail.com
realengo,
6,000m2
plot
with house fenced
off to 1,000m2 the
other 5,000m2 is
pomegranates,
fabulous views all
round, see it on
ref 10559 on www.
spanishvisions.
com take a look it
might just be what
your looking for the
house is currently
85m2 but the walls
around it are the
max 240m2 build
allowed according
to escritura so you
can treble the living
area legally if you
wanted too. the
pomegranates will
earn around 500€
a year if harvested
right, the camino to
the house needs a
bit of attention but
only needs new
gravel to be fine
again, this can be
negotiated in the
price if required.
another reduction
in price brings it
down to 155,000€

I HAVE UP TO €100,000 TO
SPEND ON A PROPERTY
IN PLAYA FLAMENCA OR
SURROUNDING AREAS.
CONTACT CRAIG AT
bellamygroup@yahoo.co.uk
or

property
warehouse
/
garage
/
storage & big
house call it what
you like its a huge
170m2, almacen,
in great location for
access between
crevillente & catral
offers invited in and
around 190,000€
as must sell quick,
oh and by the way
its got a 3000m2
plot as well as
a 240m2 build
house with pool
too and that bit is
free if you by the
garage of course,
its all legal and
ready to be turned
into a thriving
business
once
again so come and
see it, call gary
on 670469544 a
close friend of the
family, you really
need to be into a
bit of diy for the
house by the way.
i can also help
with finance and
currency exchange
if you need it
670469544

TODAY

Phone us for an offer
Call David on

660 563 176

so call 670469544
right now only
i have keys for
this one. suma,
electric and water
contracts.
we’re back in
business www.
spanishvisions.
com there are
various
vendors
in desperate need
to sell beautiful
houses
for
a
snip
big
villas
with
beautiful
gardens at 205k,
4 bed penthouse
apartment for 90k.
big finca for 155k,

inandaroundtorrevieja.com
Sell any used item & include
a photo for free. If you are
looking for a bargin check
out our classified ads
section
View our large business
directory
Web design for 25€ per page
664 748 251

Are
we
nearly
there
yet?
Ford’s TALKING car can tell you the answer to age-old question

A system that promises to be the world’s most advanced
in-car voice communication will arrive in Britain next year.
It has echoes of KIT, the car made famous by David
Hasselhof’s 1980s TV series.
And far from being confined to exclusive, top-of-therange models, it will be available in one of the country’s
biggest-selling cars, the Ford Focus.
Makers of the system - called Sync - claim drivers will be
able to use it to ask such age-old questions as ‘Where’s
the nearest petrol station?’, ‘Can I go to the toilet?’ - or
even that constant refrain of generations of children, ‘Are
we nearly there yet?’
In all, Ford says its voice-operated technology will be able
to master 10,000 commands in 19 languages, allowing
motorists to control audio, telephone and satnav systems
as well as accessing information about the surrounding
area. But while the company claims it will be able to cope

with Geordie and other regional accents, critics are asking
whether the sheer range of different ways in which we
speak will defeat it - or whether the extra distraction of
trying to master it will lead to more accidents. A version
of Sync with 100 words has been available in the U.S. for
three years and is fitted to three million Fords. Users can
choose from a range of options - some have claimed the
female voice sounds like ‘a robotic Cher’.
The new, advanced version was announced at a
technology show in Germany and will be available on
the next generation of Ford Focus next year at a price of
around £350.
While some luxury cars, such as BMW and MercedesBenz, have basic voice command systems already, Ford’s
claims Sync - developed in partnership with Microsoft - is
far more sophisticated than anything currently available.
With ever-growing connections between Internet and
satnav technology providing a mass of information about a
driver’s current location and nearby services,
proponents say a voice-controlled system
is the safest and least-distracting solution to
accessing it. For example, when the car is low
on petrol, it will be able to tell the driver where
the nearest petrol station is, and it can also
give directions to local toilets or restaurants.
It can also control the music system,
understanding voice instructions to choose
a new track on the built-in MP3 player - Ford
claims that doing so manually can distract
a driver for 25 seconds, or half-a-mile on a
motorway.
The satnav system will also be able to cope
with being given the entire address verbally,
rather than having each line inputted manually,
while the car can be instructed to change the
interior temperature or read out an incoming
text message.
If the motorist fails to give a command
when prompted, the voice in the car gives an
electronic sigh and responds: ‘Asking “What
can I say?” will always bring up a menu of
choices.’
In the event of an accident, the system can
identify exactly where in Britain or Europe it

has happened and automatically call a local emergency
number in the local language.

Jason Johnson, Ford’s product development engineer,
said: ‘Sync’s unique connection between the driver’s
devices and the vehicle means that the user’s voice can
control both the car and the device. Plus, Sync is being
developed specifically for European customers with the
ability to understand multiple languages and accents.’
However Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said he was
‘disturbed’ that drivers were being encouraged to use
mobile phones behind the wheel.
‘Drivers also need to be aware that making or receiving
phone calls or texting, even if they are not using a handheld phone, still affects their driving and they could still be
prosecuted for not being in proper control of the vehicle,’
he added.

It’s unlikely
to be the most
entertaining
conversation you’ve
ever had.
But talking to
your car - and
having it answer
straight back could soon become
as commonplace as
pressing a button or
consulting a map.

www.carsupermarket.es

the ‘good news’ paper

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Call Chrissie to find out more on 647 379 878
or email your CV to: rob@soltimes.com

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Email: info@planeparking.es www.planeparking.es
Alicante and Murcia Dual Contracts UNLIMITED TRANSFERS
Fly into Alicante and out of Murcia or vice versa
Your vehicle will be waiting for you at the airport of your choice.
Available for Long & Short Term Clients
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Parking couldn’t
be easier or more secure
Offering 24hrs parking, 365 days
a year from as little as 82cent per day
Unlimited transfers
Just 2 minutes from San Javier (Murcia)
and Alicante Airport
Latest state of the art security system
Complimentary external clean
We also offer a complete car
care services including
ITV’s

Christine Bleakley has revealed that Frank Lampard struggles
to understand the Northern Irish accent when he visits her
family.
The Daybreak presenter admitted that the Chelsea
footballer’s shyness is worsened by the situation.
“We speak so fast in Ireland and when Frank comes over
for the weekend I can see him looking at me and trying to
catch up,” she told the Daily Star. “I have to let him know
what’s being talked about. He’s so shy anyway and he gets
even more shy when that’s happening.
“He tries to do the accent, but it’s more Scottish than Irish.
And to be fair I can’t do an Essex or an East End accent.”
Bleakley also claimed that she is a “Stepford wife at heart”,
adding: “I love hoovering - and I have a thing about the
fridge being tidy. It’s a bit OCD but Frank doesn’t complain
- he verges on it himself.”

Simon Cowell has urged Char
ck Lorre in public.
Two And A Half Men creator Chu
for shutting down
he might sue CBS and Warner Bros
Last week, Sheen indicated that
production on the sitcom.
general public have
t Tonight, Cowell insisted that the
In an inter view with Entertainmen
ractual disputes.
greater concerns than Sheen’s cont
,” he said.
now
right
e
“The world is a messy plac
I genuinely would.
n], stop feeling sorr y for yourself.
Shee
[to
say
ld
The mogul added: “I wou
it out yourself.”
than you are - and you [should] sort
There’s a lot of people worse off

Willoughby Praises ‘DOI’ Hamilton

Holly Willoughby and Hayley Tamaddon have praised Dancing On
Ice’s Laura Hamilton for
her performances on the ice.
Host Willoughby and former champion Tamaddon described the children
’s TV presenter’s
recent routines as “amazing”. Hamilton topped the judges’ scorebo
ard last night, picking up
28.5 points, the highest of the series so far, for her routine with Colin
Ratushniak.
“I think you find yourself drawn to watching Laura,” said Willough
by. “She gives such a
great performances and great facial expressions. She is so good. You
just can’t stop watching
Laura.”
Tamaddon added: “She gave the performance of her life last night
and you literally just
watch her. She was absolutely amazing. Not only can you see the energy
in her face. She put
in so many lifts and hard tricks. You never look at her and think she’ll
falter. She always looks
stable on her feet.”
Dancing On Ice continues next Sunday on ITV1

r Auction To Be Held
Clapton Guita
Eric Clapton’s guitars

A selection of rock legend
his Crossroads
are to be auctioned to benefit
n, it has been
bea
Carib
the
in
re
cent
tion
rehabilita
announced.
k this week at
The instruments will go on the bloc
, according to
rters
qua
head
Bonhams New York City
website.
se’s
hou
ion
auct
the
on
t
men
a state
was held earlier
A preview of the slate of items
the musician’s
of
n
ctio
colle
the
but
,
this year
up for sale on
g
goin
ially
offic
personal belongings is
ay.
Wednesd
to be sold is a
Among the more-than 70 guitars
Stratocaster,
kie’
‘Blac
d
fame
’s
ician
mus
the
of
replica
000 (£12,300).
$20,
than
e
mor
fetch
be
which is expected to
rist explained that he is proud to
guita
d
In an official statement, the acclaime
n.
ictio
e struggling with add
ion in
able to be raising funds to aid thos
agreed to host my third guitar auct
have
s
ham
Bon
that
py
hap
very
re I
“I am
cent
tion
bilita
reha
hol
alco
gua, the drug and
aid of The Crossroads Centre, Anti
founded in 1998,” he said.
years ago after
Centre in Antigua more than 13
Clapton founded the Crossroads
se.
abu
e
tanc
subs
overcoming his own battles with
course of his
two-dozen solo albums over the
The musician has released nearly
career.

BBC soap EastEnders yesterday filme
his daughter Abi.
pair end up
to be broadcast next month - the
The Sun reports that - in scenes
wedding.
a’s
Tany
a lorry on the way to his ex-wife
trapped in Max’s car after he hits
rged last
eme
first
day
dent on Tanya’s happy
News that Max would suffer an acci
.
now
l
unti
own
unkn
t in store had been
month, but exact details of the stun
a trip to
ire
requ
and
h
cras
the
in
suffer injuries
It is thought that Max and Abi both
exchanges her
to hear the news shortly after she
hospital. Tanya is then expected
pting her to flee from the church.
vows with fiancé Greg Jessop - prom
’s current
to spark the conclusion to the soap
The accident has also been tipped
es to her
com
ning
was reported that Ronnie Bran
baby swap stor yline. Yesterday, it
late son
her
to
birth
the incident, as she gave
senses while visiting Max following
nt.
tme
trea
brother-in-law receives
James at the hospital where her
decision to
rtedly realises the enormit y of her
repo
nie
Ron
ital,
While at the hosp
to Kat being
es a dramatic confession, leading
steal Kat Moon’s baby and later mak
reunited with her son.

Entwistle ‘To Be Shakespearean Actress’

Coronation Street star Vicky ­ Entwistle has
reportedly told friends that she will take elocution
lessons to find theatre work.
The actress, who announced last year that
she is leaving the soap after 14 years of playing
Janice Battersby, apparently wants to become a
Shakespearean actress and star in period dramas
both on stage and TV.
A source told the Sunday Mirror: “Vicky was being
­absolutely serious when she told ­ people about
her intentions for life after the Street. She was
adamant that she would love to do Shakespeare
or period ­ characters but she also realised that
would mean having to tone her voice down and
lose the accent she has.
“Other people have done it, so why shouldn’t
she? There were a few ­ eyebrows raised when
people started discussing what she had been
saying but that is ­ because her accent is so
distinctive and everybody associates Vicky with
that broad twang.”
Entwistle filmed her final scenes for the soap last week. A guest
at her leaving
party said: “We were a bit shocked to hear she fancied doing Shakesp
eare. Vicky is a
bubbly, outgoing woman and it was just hard to imagine her all serious.”

letter to the editor
Dea r Editor
n Residents at the
d of the Department of Europea
From Maria Asu nción Prieto, Hea
Diputación de Alicante
h my Department
forthcom ing benefit concert, whic
I wou ld like to tell you about the
2nd April at the
rday
Satu
On
).
al British Legion (RBL
is orga nising alongside the Roy
0 and 19:0 0) to
12:0
(at
held
be
will
s
, two concert
Prov incial Aud itorium in Alicante
of this association.
celebrate the 90th Ann iversary
nisation of this
actively collaborating in the orga
The Diputación de Alicante is
ide the United
outs
held
first event of its kind to be
importa nt event, which is the
orm ing at the
perf
irs
cho
e
larg
l artists and many
Kingdom . There will internationa
the concerts
of
h
Eac
ers.
orm
perf
sh
nish and Briti
event and they will include Spa
to enjoy a
able
1300 people, all of whom will be
will have a capacit y for more than
nised by
orga
r
eve
out dou bt, one of biggest events
uniq ue event, which will be, with
.
the prov incial groups of the RBL
de in the prov ince, I
of Europea n residents that resi
unt
amo
Considering the large
ess and hope that
aborate so that this event is a succ
hope that the Tow n Halls will coll
dents, in particular
rmation amongst the foreign resi
they help by spreading this info
n Halls to display
. I have asked all the loca l Tow
the British, of thei r mun icipality
al buildings as
icip
mun
all
re that they are placed in
posters about the event and ensu
for the event is
ets
tick
of
e
pric
The
superma rkets.
well as loca l bars, restaura nts and
ormance (but tickets
e and €15 for the evening perf
€12 for the matinée performanc
for this are nea rly sold out)
al British Legion,
event will go directly to the Roy
All the money raised from the
fit association
-pro
non
This
they do here in Spain.
to fina nce the importa nt work that
have served
who
ens
citiz
sh
Briti
to
emotional support
faci litates econom ic, social and
Spain. The tickets
thei r relatives, who now live in
in the British Armed Forces and
ts2011@gmail.
cke
966 860 735 or by email to: rblti
can be bought by telephoning
.
ban k transfer or cred it card
com . Pay ment can be made via
sh and Spa nish
this event is to integrate the Briti
of
One of the primary targets
essentia l work
and
ive
ress
imp
the
to jointly celebrate
cultures, to share trad itions and
e information please
during last the 90 yea rs. For mor
carried out by this association
Federico Grove 4,
pea n Residents situated in Avenue
contact the Department of Euro
teseuropeos@
den
resi
il:
91, fax: 965 98.0 4.12 or ema
Alicante. Or telephone: 965 10 73
dip-alicante.es
Warmest rega rds
Mª Asu nción Prieto

please email your letters to editor@soltimes.com
letters featured are from across our distribution area

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

37

...motoring

Skoda’s shock coupé revealed

Skoda will launch a stunning three-door dubbed the ‘Joyster’ - the new
car sits on the VW Golf platform, with Scirocco engines under the bonnet
From Yeti to sporty, Skoda is expanding again! We’ve unearthed
plans for the firm to produce a three-door Scirocco-rivalling
coupé called the Joyster.
The Golf-based newcomer will provide a low-cost alternative
to Volkswagen’s sporty coupé, and could be coming sooner
than you think. An insider confirmed the Joyster name, along
with an expected launch towards the end of this year, and our
images reveal how the new car could look.
Many of the design cues are from the original Joyster concept
(right), which debuted at 2006’s Paris Motor Show – although
this car was supermini-sized. These touches include blacked-out
A-pillars, giving the illusion of a large, wraparound windscreen.
The Joyster’s sporty profile is reminiscent of its Scirocco cousin,
and the rising waistline and sharply angled C-pillars complete a
stylish design. At the rear, bold tail-lights run the width of the
bootlid. Skoda’s design has evolved since the concept debuted,
and the new car will get an updated family face to allow it to fit

into the range.
That means the headlamps are now more shapely and a set of
LED daytime running lights has been incorporated into the grille.
Expect the engine line-up to mimic the Scirocco’s – so it will
include 1.4-litre petrol turbos in 121bhp and 158bhp guises.
The diesel range will consist of 2.0-litre TDIs putting out 138bhp
and 168bhp. Gearbox options will be either a six-speed manual
or a seven-ratio DSG. A vRS model, similar to the car seen here,
could follow in 2012, powered by a 2.0-litre petrol turbo. This is
likely to deliver around 210bhp, and be able to cover 0-62mph
in six seconds and go on to
155mph.
When it hits the road later
this year, the Joyster will cost
around £16,000 – undercutting
the Scirocco by £3,000.

Workshop based in La Pinilla
Only ten minutes from Camposol
Car valeting from only 25€ (pre booking only)

Small Bodywork Repairs Undertaken
New I.C.E. Computer Diagnostic & Fault Finding
Servicing from only 75€
Local Delivery & Collection If Possible
Pre ITV Checks Available
And we can even take your car for its ITV test too!
Air Conditioning Repairs & Re-gassing
From only 40€

The Formula 1 season hasn’t yet
begun, but Ferrari has already
won its first battle, to use the
name 150 on
for its new F1
challenger.

When it was first launched, Ferrari announced
the car’s name as F150, in celebration of the
150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.
However, Ford took exception to this, and
launched legal proceedings, claiming that
the new F1 racer’s name could impact on the
reputation of its F-150 pick-up truck in the US.
Ferrari then changed its car’s name to
150th Italia, and has now settled on Ferrari
150° Italia, where ° is the Italian symbol for
‘th’. In response, Ford has dropped its legal
challenge.
In response to events, Ferrari released a

damning press release about the matter,
saying:
“It appears that this [the name F150] could
have caused so much confusion in the minds
of the consumer across
the Pond that, at the
same
time

as losing the F, the name will be completely
Italianised, replacing the English “th” with the
equivalent Italian symbol.
Therefore the name will now read as the
Ferrari 150° Italia, which should make it clear
even to the thickest of people that the name
of the car is a tribute to the anniversary of the
unification of our country.
Let’s hope the matter is now definitely
closed and that we can concentrate on more
serious matters, namely ensuring that our car
that already seems to be pretty good out of
the box, becomes a real winner.”

• Car sales, valeting,
tyres, air con, engine
diagnostics and
re-gassing
• Recovery service (Grua)
Pick up and delivery
service
•Scrap cars disposed of
legally, including
all paperworks.

EUROGOLF SOCIETY PRESS REPORT..................... LO CRISPIN GOLF SOCIETY........
3rd March 2011: A delayed start to
our March Monthly Medal due to frost,
it was quite cold, but we didn’t see a
lot of ‘frost’….maybe La Marquesa were
being extra cautious!!
I did say in my report for last Thursday
that Spring had arrived, I think I was
a bit premature but hopefully next
week will be warmer! Eventually 65
players set off after the delay, and
enjoyed a good, competitive game of
golf. Congratulations to all our winners,
especially the winner of the Monthly
Medal and Birthday Cup – JILL YOUNG.
Winner March Monthly Medal and
Birthday Cup – Jill Young
All results on countback:
Gold Category: 1st John Fairhurst 72,
2nd Roger Richings 73, 3rd Malcolm
Foskett 73.
Silver Category: 1st Jill Young 69,
2nd Alf Butterworth 70, 3rd David
Gelsthorpe 71.
Best Gross Score: Malcolm Foskett 84
- CSA today = 0
Nearest the Pins: 5th Bill Martin,

11th Gill Britten, 12th (2nd shot) Ian
Turner, 15th Stan Low, 17th Edgar
Hille (donated El Corazon voucher for
Captain’s Day)
Best Front 9: Mannie Niessen 33.5;
Best Back 9: Mike Young 33; Best Par 5s:
Mike Young 21; Best Par 3s: Brendan
Foran 13; Football Draw: Bev Evans,
Lew Joss & Rachel Leckey; Captain’s
Bunker raised: 17€
Many thanks as always to our sponsors
today – Sands Bistro, El Tournasol, Super
Valu, Sierra Golf & El Corazon.
The lists are up on the Board for the
March Dinner/Dance, and hopefully
we will get lots of support for this very
enjoyable evening. Also the latest La
Marquesa Local Rules are now on the
website for your information.
Finally, well done to our Match
Secretary Mary Sanderson who was
also acting Treasurer & Handicap
Secretary yesterday!
Caption: Jill Young - Winner March
Monthly Medal & Birthday Cup

FC CARTAGENA............................

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
NASTIC TARRAGONA - 2
FC
CARTAGENA - 0
BY STEVE HIBBERD
This substandard performance by
an unorganised Cartagena side, adds
to an unwanted catalogue of away
day blues, which come the seasons
end, could scupper any div 2a play off
aspirations they might have held.
To make matters worse, super striker
Toche limped off midway through
the 2nd half with another injury, plus
captain Mariano picked up his 10th
booking of the season and will now sit
out the next match. Lowly Tarragona
looked the more hungry of the 2 sides,
although both were guilty of producing
an exceptionally high number of
wayward passes.
The 6,000 fans
inside Nou Estadi were treated to the
opening goal on 25 mins, which up to
then had never looked like happening.
Once again, it was a poor clearance
from defence which set up the chance
for Mairata, who gratefully slammed
home a loose ball past a wrong footed

Casilla from 10 yards. It could have got
worse 9 mins later, but a firm appeal
for a penalty resulting from a reckless
challenge by Clavero, was not upheld.
Casilla came to his teams rescue
moments later, pushing away a fierce 20
yard drive. Cartagenas’ first real chance
arrived on 41 mins, Clavero forcing an
important save from his accurate close
range effort. This seemed to wake his
team mates from their slumber, for
leading up to the break, an ok Victor
effort signalled fresh urgency, which
beforehand had been sadly lacking.
Los Albinegros started the 2nd half
in the same vein, Moral seeing his long
range drive well saved. An off the
ball incident on 53 mins, should have
produced a penalty to the visitors, but
a blatant barge/push/shove on Toche
was presumably not seen (or maybe
it was more convenient to ignore it - a
bit like a certain Mr Rooney’s thuggish
elbow in the face, which as we all know
was never a sending off offence!!!). This
proved to be Toche’s last piece of the
action before being subbed by Goiria,

MAGGOTS END............................
RODS and REELS
The match this week was the
penultimate round of the winter
championship. The venue being the
Rio Segura in Murcia. Although the
day wasn´t too bad, sitting in the
shade with a north easterly wind
blowing, made it feel exceptionally
cold. The river is starting to fish a
bit better with a lot of lost big fish.
As can be seen from the results the
weights are moving up. However,
there was still 5 dry nets!
Top anglers on the day:
1st Pete (The Peg) Hampshire
fishing the feeder using corn and
maggot with 15.36 kilo´s
2nd Ian (Irish Wizard) Dalzell
fishing the feeder using maggot
with 12.56 kilo´s
3rd Stan (The Man) Roberts
fishing the feeder using maggot
with 10.76 kilo´s.
Good to see Pete the Peg back to
winning ways.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a vacancy
within the club if anyone is
interested in joining please contact
Sue Swann on 966 729 293.
ABBEY ANGLING RESULTS supplied
by TERRY SCREEN: This week’s 6th
round match on 1st March 2011
of the Abbey Angling Cup was
fished on the river Segura´s Eden

Stretch. Yet another cold day with
temperatures down to minus and
when we arrived at our pegs,
there was a slight ground frost, the
water was low and clear with algae
breaking away from the bottom.
There is a lot of reeds etc left in
the water by the mechanical bank
clearer and rain is needed for a
good flow of water to flush the
rubbish out.
Fish were again hard to find with
only four anglers managing to
catch anything. The same peg as
last week produced the winner.
1st on the day Terry (Swing Em)
Screen with 6.860kg fishing the
pole and using pellet.
2nd Stan (The Man) Roberts with
2.840kg fishing the pole and using
pellet.
3rd John (Silverback) Marsh with
2.110kg fishing the pole and using
maggot.
All details are available from the
Match Secretary Terry Screen on
965328368.
ANGLERS TOGETHER
Anglers Together was formed to
introduce and encourage anglers
of all abilities to meet up and
get together to fish, either sea or
freshwater. Firm friendships have
been formed during the time

Wednesday morning 2 March, 36
members and guests set off down
the AP7 for a 10am start at the new
course designed by Jack Nicholas,
Saurines de la Torres. The course
has a ‘linksy’, desert feel to it
with large areas of ‘dunes’ and 6
hectares of water to negotiate.
The format was an AM AM and
the wind was blowing when the
9 teams set off, which made the
fast, undulating greens even faster
and made scoring difficult, as
usual some teams managed the
conditions well and came in with
good scores. The staff made us
very welcome, it was just a shame
that there were few facilities.
1st
Brian
Coultate,
Danny
McErlean, Dave Keating and Tony
French 81 points
2nd Sue Smith, Brian Rendall,
Carl Peden and Paul Flanaghan 79

who came on the pitch, then on 93
mins came off again - that, ladies and
gentlemen, just about sums up his
contribution!! Goal number 2 on 70
mins was a cracker! From fully 30 yards,
Moran hit a lovely swerving shot, which
looped over the head of Casilla, before
nestling in the back of the net. First
Botelho, then Victor had decent efforts
from free kicks comfortably saved, as
the visitors finished the stronger of the
2 sides, but overall Nastic thoroughly
deserved their victory, leaving
Cartagena manager JIM to arrange
a back to basics team talk with his
woefully under performing squad.
FC Cartagena line-up
Casilla, Txiki, Cala (Rodri), Cygan,
Clavero (Jose), Longas, Mariano,
Botelho, Moral, Victor, Toche (Goiria)
Forthcoming Fixture
Next up for Cartagena is a home
match against northern Spain side
Huesca. This div 2a match takes
place at Cartagonova Stadium on
Sat 12 Mar, ko 6pm. Regular updates
on FC Cartagena can be found by
visiting www.nosoloefese.es or www.
futbolclubcartagena.com

the group has been active and
information on fishing venues and
licenses required are available at
the meetings or by regular emailed
newsletters.
Meetings are held in two
locations on the second Friday and
Saturday of each month. Anyone
with an interest in fishing (sea or
freshwater) is welcome to come
along to a meeting to see what
we’re about.
The next meeting at Mary’s Bar,
Campoverde (near Pilar de la
Horadada) will be held on Friday
11th March at 12 o’clock.
There is a NEW VENUE for the
Puerto de Mazarron meeting
starting in January 2011.
On Saturday 12th March at 12
o’clock the meeting will be held at
The New Royal Bar and Restaurant
at El Alamillo, opposite the seafront between Isla Plana and the
Port.
Refreshments and lunch are
available at each location.
Come along to a meeting nearest
to you.
For further details ring Alan
Roscoe 968 570 876 or email:
anglerstogether@gonuts4free.com
TIGHT LINES
DAVE HOARE

points
3rd Colin Ranson, Tom Paton,
Dave Surtees and Bob Metcalf. 79
points
Nearest the Pins: Malcolm
Morrision 6th, Brian Coultate 10th,
Paul Fredrick 14th and Carl Peden
18th
The 2s pot was won by Gail
Coultate, Tom Paton and Meirion
Roberts winning 12 Euros each.
Our next competition is at
Alicante on the 16th March so
please get your names down as
there is a free breakfast included
for anyone interested and a quiz
at Alex Bistro in the evening. If you
wish to join us go to https://sites.
google.com/site/locrispingolf/ or
for further information our email is
LCGSinfo@gmail.com

San Fulgencio CF.....................
C.F. Group Caliche
2
San Fulgencio C.F.
2
Sponsored by 900telecom.com
Bright start by the Saints, the first
scoring chance fell to Marco Lemos but
his shot from fifteen metres sailed over
the bar. After twenty minutes Caliche
started to get into the game and were
pressurising their opponents goal but
the Saints defence cleared up the
threats. Good work down the left by
Fernando saw his cross into the Caliche
box turned goal bound by Marco but
the keeper saved. The Saints took the
lead on the half hour when new boy
Giacomo Gutierrez took the ball past
three opponents, a perfect cross into
the box was headed in by Marco. 0-1.
Caliche were gifted the equalizer not
long after when an under hit pass from
Cameron Scammell was snapped up
by an incoming forward and driven
passed keeper Alex Teare this was
much against the run of play, up until
then Alex making a return to the club

had not had much to do. Half Time 1-1.
Caliche started the second half very
lively and had the best of the chances.
In the sixtieth minute Giacomo was
fouled inside the penalty area, Marco
converted the spot kick to put the
Saints 2- 1 up. The Saints dominated
from then on but during a rare Caliche
attack the ball crossed into the Saints
penalty area and was turned into his
own goal by Samuel. 2-2. In the dying
minutes the Saints had a number of
chances to score but it wasn’t to be
and at the final whistle the points were
shared, Caliche must be thinking that
all their birthdays and Christmases had
come at once. Next Sunday the Saints
host Montesinos All Sports kick-off
12:00hrs. See web site for more details
www.sanfulgenciocf.com
Barry Wallis

CLAPTONS GOLF SOCIETY.........

ALTORREAL
18th
February 2011
A big thank you
to
Altorreal
for
their hospitality &
assistance on the day.
The course was in
immaculate condition
green fairways and
rolling true greens.
36 players set out
and enjoyed some
challenging golf. Two
doubles matches took
place, congratulations
to Phil Pettican & Ian
Faulkner and Willie
(winner again!!)Buchanan & Mike Wyatt for progressing through to the Semi-Finals,
who incidentally play each other in the semi’s. Unfortunately Spanish John could
not claim the bones!!!! SORRY JAKE.
The winners on the day are as follows
Overall winner Willie (winner again!!) Buchanan
36 pts
Gold 1st Place
David Gray
35 pts
Gold 2nd Place Andy (Steady) Trefry
32 pts
Silver 1st Place
Dave Mace
32 pts
Silver 2nd Place Phyllis Venables
30 pts
Best Guest
John Holland
25 pts
Most Potential
Teresa Hatt
8 pts
Nearest the pins: 5th David Gray; 8th Merv Williams; 10th Graham Butterworth;
17th Tony Stead
The Society is always looking for new members. Anyone wishing to join us can
do so by registering on the webpage or alternately contact a committee member
(details on the webpage)
The Society’s next outing is on the 18th March @ Roda Golf course. Anyone
interested in playing can register at :
www.societygolfing.co.uk
Login : claptons
Password : guitar

www.soltimes.com

SOLTIMES MARCH 2011

sport

send your sports reports to : editor@soltimes.com

Orihuela Costa FC..................

Thader Rojales 0
Orihuela Costa F.C 5
Sponsored by Morgans Bar &
Amber Pools.
This week saw Costa take on
Federation side Thader in an
arranged friendly which saw Six
new signings make their debuts
and also regular keeper Jordan
Marshall come out onto pitch and
see Kristjan Gudmundsson play his
first game in goal. Taking this into
consideration it was Thader who
started well but with Jack O’Brien
captain and Jordan Clayton adding
some experience to the team
Costa started to put some passes
together and on 4 mins Clayton saw
his effort smash the woodwork.
Three minutes later Callum Gildeaa
also saw his strike fly just over the
crossbar. Costa got the opening
goal when new boy Joey Simpson
latched onto a great cross from
Clayton to score his first goal on 13
mins for his new team. It remained
1 - 0 at halftime, but it was Costa
who carried on from their first
half display and with new signings
Patrick Sullivan & Cesar Augusto in

defence winning every challenge
that came their way, Costa were in
no mood to conceed. After some
good work in midfield from Coner
James & Jordan Marshall Costa got
a third goal from Clayton who was
terrorising Thader all afternoon
when he struck home the ball on 36
mins. It was Marshall who provided
the perfect pass for Clayton to get
his second on 41 mins to take Costa
4 - 0 up. Paul Lapham up front and
Scott Brunton in midfield provided
the energy and trickery to keep
Thader on the back foot and on
45 mins when Gudmundsson from
goal rolled the ball out to Augusto
saw the defender go from box to
box passing three Thader players
and confidently strike home for his
first goal for Costa to round of a
great display and give his side a 5
-0 win.
For more info on Orihuela
Costa F.C. who are based at Playa
Flamenca contact George Marshall
on :679 77 44 88 or visit www.
orihuelacostafc.com
Photo: team before the game.

ORIHUELA RFC............................
GREAT EXPERIENCED WEEKEND FOR
ORIHUELA RFC: Orihuela RFC seniors
went down to play Murcia in a friendly at
the weekend and gained some valuable
experience by playing against a higher
level team. Orihuela gave some of the
new players and juveniles some game
time experience as well as the old man
of the team who surprisingly played the
vast majority of the game, yours truely.
The game started off free flowing by
both teams with a lot of open rugby.
Both defences held firm until the end
of the first quarter when Murcia made
the first break through of the game with
the first try. They then got penalised in
front of the post for going off the feet,
which Pedro converted the penalty.
This happened again shortly afterwards
giving Pedro his second penalty
conversion, but just before half time
Murcia scored a second try to go in at
half time 10-6 up.
The second half started off pretty
much the same as the first one, but
with Murcia being able to bring on fresh
legs at will, proved the turning point of
the game, as holes began to appear in
the Orihuela’s defence. Orihuela still
tried to play open
rugby and made
some
excellent
breaks and were
unlucky not to
score a couple of
tries of their own.
In the end in a
well refereed game
Murcia eventually
ran out winners 276, scoring another
three tries. The
game was played in

the true spirit of the sport, which was
great to see and be part off.
The next game for the seniors will be
on 26 March at home, for more details
keep an eye on the local press.
If you want to know any more details
of what rugby is about in the area, and
for your rugby gear club shirts etc, you
can always come and see me at the
Moncayo Market most Tuesdays and
Saturdays or call me on the number
below. The club trains on Tuesday’s and
Thursday’s at the Miguel Hernandez
University, the seniors 20.00 to 22.00,
while the juniors from 18.15 to 20.00.
So if you are interested, dig out those
rugby boots and come along and see
for yourself what it is like. New players
are always welcome no matter of what
age you are or your skill level.
If you would like more information
about what is going on in the club, you
can contact the club by phoning, the
president Álvaro on 630 313 298 or
myself, Garry on 692 767 242. For the
juniors contact Oscar on 600 871 606
(Spanish)
So come along and join in the fun!

39

England turn to Eoin Morgan after
‘devastated’ Kevin Pietersen heads home
from World Cup with hernia problem
England batsman
Kevin Pietersen said
he was ‘absolutely
devastated’ to be
returning
home
from the World
Cup after finally
succumbing to a
hernia problem.
The ECB confirmed
Pietersen would fly
back the UK in the
next 24 hours due
to the injury which
was first discovered
during the recent
one-day series in
Australia.
The International
Cricket
Council
have
approved
England’s request
to replace Pietersen
with Eoin Morgan
in their World
Cup squad. Morgan was originally
named in England’s World Cup
squad but missed out after suffering
a broken finger in the build-up to
the tournament.
Morgan has responded well to
treatment, however, and even if
he is not deemed fit enough to
face Bangladesh later this week,
he would be a key addition to
the squad for the knockout stage
should England qualify.
News that Pietersen’s World Cup
was over emerged this morning
while the England squad were en
route from India to Bangladesh for
their next match on Friday.
It had already been confirmed that
Pietersen would undergo hernia
surgery after the World Cup, but
he appeared laboured in the field
during Sunday’s six-run win against
South Africa.
England’s management have now
acted to avoid further aggravation
of the problem that has also ruled

Pietersen out of the Indian Premier
League, which he was due to
contest with the Deccan Chargers.
Pietersen, who will be out for
aroundsixweekswhenheundergoes
the surgery, said on his Twitter page:
‘Confirming the BREAKING NEWS ...
I fly home tonight. Out of the WC &
IPL.. Absolutely devastated!
‘Sad to leave India.. Love the
people & the hospitality!’
It had been hoped England’s
medical staff would be able to nurse
Pietersen through the remainder of
the World Cup.
Speaking on Saturday, Pietersen
said: ‘I’m obviously extremely
disappointed to have picked up this
hernia injury.
‘It will no doubt impact my
preparation but careful management
should see me still play a significant
role in the team’s campaign.’
But Pietersen complained of
soreness after bowling eight overs
in the victory against South Africa,

while his performance with the bat
in Chennai gleaned just two runs.
England team director Andy
Flower believes the team are already
moving on despite the hernia
problem sustained by Pietersen.
Flower acknowledged however that
England were losing a major player.
‘He’s a world class player,’ Flower
told Sky Sports News. ‘I thought
he was forming an interesting
opening partnership with Andrew
Strauss. In three of the four games
they’ve played together they have
looked good up front and they
put on significant partnerships
that have kicked off good batting
performances.’
England coach Flower insisted
that the ability to call on a player of
Morgan’s quality in place of Pietersen
means the team can move forward.
‘We’re moving on now and Eoin
Morgan is an exciting cricketer. It’s
going to be good to have him back.’

LA MARINA GOLF SOCIETY......................................
Alicante GC, March 3rd, 2011
The March Cup competition was
held at Alicante G.C., a popular venue
with our members due to the good
condition of the course and its good
value for money. However, I must
remark on the many unrepaired pitch
marks on the greens which had been
left by earlier players. It only takes a
few seconds to repair your own and
one other so why do these people not
consider the damage that they do.
Anyway, the day started a little cold
but sunny but, as the day progressed,
it became obvious that someone
was going to get wet. Very wet. The
sky darkened and a little thunder
rolled in the distance. I think it no
co-incidence that there were no 5
and half hour rounds! There was one
member however, who seemed to
think that summer had come and that
they were on the beach as they were
spied paddling in the water on the
2nd hole....the one with the waterfall
on the left! Goodness, how cold must
that have been!
Fortunately the rain held off until
most members were safely in the club
house where prize giving was held. At
this point I must modestly point out
that I had had a really successful day
and was hoping that I might be in with

a shout. I was overjoyed to announced
the winner and be presented with the
Cup alongside all the other winners. It
just proves the point that anyone can
win!
A quick ‘ get well’ to Alan West who
has recently had surgery. We hope it
isn’t too long until we see him back on
the course.
Results
Gold Division: Dave Smirnowsky - 31
points
Silver Division: Barry Gribble - 30
points
Bronze Division & Overall winner:
Carol Marriner - 32 points
Nearest the pin winners: Hole 3

– Pete Wootton,
Hole 6 – Aidan
Byrne; Hole 12 – Jimmy Scott
Hole
17 – Aidan Byrne;
Our next Social event is the ever
popular Bingo Quiz night to be held
at the La marina Sports & Socal Centre
at 7.30p.m. On March 22nd, 2011.
We look forward to seeing as many
members and guests as possible.
Our next competition is on Thursday
March 17th, 2011 at Alenda GC, first
tee time 10.00a.m. Anyone wishing to
play, purchase tickets, join the Society
or obtain further information, please
contact Bill McGrandle on 679 007756